Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters
by ChrstnWrtr
Summary: Jane and Edward prepare to do battle with monsters. Based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte and the 1973 miniseries of the same name.
1. Chapter 1

Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters

Chapter 1

NOTE: I don't own the rights to the book; this is out of pure love of the story

Thornfield had just been rebuilt after it had been burned down a year ago by the late mad wife of Mr. Edward Rochester. The new inhabitants of Thornfield include Edward, his wife Jane Rochester, nee Eyre, and their servants. After losing his left hand in the fire, Rochester had been learning how to do everything with one hand. His eyesight was slowly getting better. All was well with the world; both Jane and Edward couldn't be happier. The two of them looked forward to spending the rest of their lives together and eventually, starting a family.

Unfortunately, their bliss is to be short-lived as a devastating (and quite disgusting) plague has hit England. The un-dead, or zombies, as they are often called, have raised quite a stir after some individuals returned to England from Louisiana to settle some land ownership issues. Apparently, a few of them have received questionable bite marks that eventually turned them into zombies with a huge appetite for human brains. To protect themselves from this bitter plague, the inhabitants of Thornfield had boarded up the lower windows and made sure the doors were locked. Going outside was risky as one of Edward's servants nearly became a zombie himself one day after a few of them had scared Edward's horse while he was riding it; the servant fled to the safety of Thornfield and the horse became a tasty meal for the un-dead.

"Jane, dear, I tell you," he said, pale with grief. He plopped down in his favorite chair, his head clearly facing the floor. "Those horrid creatures are everywhere! No one can't even get out of the house without putting themselves in danger. Fortunately, the fellow was able to get away; my horse did not fare well at all as those un-dead creatures promptly consumed him." He put his face in his only hand and sighed. "I loved that horse, Jane. I've had him long before you came here to Thornfield. It's such a horrible way to expire." He wept as Jane put her arms around him to comfort her grieving husband.

"I'm sorry, Edward." She kissed his cheek and continued to hold him..

"Thank you for your comfort, Jane," he said, wiping his eyes with his one remaining hand. "At least I still have that mare I bought a few years back."

"Don't go out again until this ordeal is over, Edward. Promise?"

"I promise." He kissed her and the two of them went to Edward's study on the second floor. They gazed out of the unboarded, closed window to witness a group of zombies happily feasting on a nearby farmer's cow. The farmer ran outside and managed to kill every zombie with a single shot to the head. Then, they realized that these creatures had a weakness; if their head was eliminated from the body or shot at, the creature would be deemed completely deceased.

"Jane, I think it's about time you learned how to use a gun," said Edward.

"You're kidding, right? Surely, you jest, Edward!"

"On the contrary. If you want to survive this creature onslaught, you should surely know how to operate a firearm. I have some hunting rifles in the attic. I'll show you how, my dear."

Jane glared at her husband, giving him a half puzzling, half "are-you-really-serious" look. "Edward, your eyesight is not yet normal and you have only one hand You just learned how to write with one hand so how on earth are you going..."

"Jane, Jane!" interrupted Edward. "Calm down. I have this figured out. I know a silversmith who is able to create an artificial appendage as a substitute." He went to his desk drawer and pulled out a device that was shaped to fit like a hand but instead of digits, the device was fitted with a metal hook. "Now all I need is an eyepatch and I can change my name to Bluebeard," he said with a grin.

"Dear, I don't know whether to be frustrated or laugh," said Jane smiling. She eventually covered her mouth and chuckled at her husband.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Edward was able to show his wife just how efficient he was at operating a firearm with one hand and his new hook. Both of them took practice shots by killing random zombies through a small crack in the window. Jane learned the fine art of marksmanship and zombie killing quickly, much to Edward's delight. The next step was to show Jane how to dissemble and reassemble a firearm, both in light and blindfolded, which she mastered beautifully. Now it was easier to receive mail and visitors as Edward's coachmen were armed to the teeth to fight anything that tried to devour the gray matter in their craniums. Then the true test of zombie defense for Jane and Edward came in the form of a trio of un-dead individuals set on trying to assault them as they were coming home from a church service, two of the three zombies managed to get in but were quickly dispatched by Jane. The third one, apparently frightened by the gunshots, limped (rather quickly) away. Edward managed to get a good look at him and he noticed that the un-dead individual looked quite familiar.<p>

As the servants cleaned up the unholy mess of dead zombie near the doorway, both Jane and Edward made themselves comfortable in the living room near the fireplace. The two of them sat together on the sofa; Jane putting her head on Edward's shoulder and he draping his arm around her shoulders.

"At least I got rid of them," said Jane.

"Two of them," replied Edward. "The third one got away. But as the fellow was leaving, I was able to get a good look at him. He appears to be familiar."

"In what way?"

"Remember when we tried to marry for the first time? We were interrupted by a solicitor."

"Not just him, but by Richard Mason," said Jane.

"Exactly."

"So Richard Mason's solicitor became a zombie? That's nothing to be concerned with," said Jane.

"No, Jane. The zombie _is_ Richard Mason. The mere thought of him makes my blood boil."

"Relax, Edward, dear. Perhaps you might have mistaken him for Richard; your eyesight is still a little weak."

"I'm sure he looked like Richard. Oooh, I can't stand him!"

"That whole problem is gone, Edward," said Jane soothingly. "Besides, I am your wife now." She kissed his cheek and he nuzzled his face into her hair. "By the way, I have something I must tell you. It should take your mind off a bit."

"Oh really?" His face suddenly lit up with surprise.

"The doctor visited me yesterday."

"It was probably about that 'strange sickness' you've been experiencing lately, right?"

"Well yes, Edward. And the doctor gave me good news." She took his only hand in hers and clasped it tightly. "I'm going to have a baby."

For a second, Edward was in shock and then smiled. "Oh Jane, that's wonderful," he said. "I'm going to be a father!" The two embraced and kissed passionately. "I'm so happy Jane," Edward said as he wiped a tear of happiness from his grizzled cheek. "How far along are you?"

"A couple of months." She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. A horrible thought suddenly entered her head as she immediately retracted her hand from his.

"What is the matter, darling?"

"What about the zombies?"

"What about them, Jane?"

"I'm scared. Scared that our child would grow up in danger of these disgusting creatures, Edward."

"There is nothing to worry about," reassured her husband. "God is with us and when our little one is finally born, this whole zombie mess will be gone." He pulled her closer to him. "I will make absolutely sure that nothing will happen to us or our family." He gently kissed the tip of her ear and Jane blushed in response.

"Edward," Jane said, giggling.

"Jane," said Edward. "I'm feeling quite amorous. Perhaps we should escape to the confines of our bedroom."

Jane smiled flirtatiously. "And lock the door and throw away the key." Then the two of them promptly retreated upstairs to their bedroom.

* * *

><p>In the middle of the night, Edward and Jane were woken up by servants. Apparently, a shadowy figure had been spotted near the front door of Thornfield. The two of them quickly went downstairs to find out what happened.<p>

"There's definitely something or someone lurking about outside," said the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax. She peered through the window. "It's definitely one of those zombies."

"Wonderful," mumbled a tired and weary Edward as he ran his only hand through his tousled hair. "Mrs. Fairfax, could this have waited until morning? There is no possible way the un-dead can get in here."

"One of the servants saw him trying to climb to the top of the house. Fortunately, he fell down after ascending about three feet or so."

"Do you know what he looked like?"

"Oh, I don't know, Mr. Rochester. He looked like any other zombie. The groundskeeper said he looked like someone you might know."

"Oh really." Edward's eyes perked up. "Can you tell me who?"

"He didn't exactly say who but he said it might be someone related to your first wife."

"Richard Mason!" exclaimed Edward. "Why that little bast..."

"Edward, please calm down," interrupted Jane, clutching his arm. "You need to watch your language."

Edward said nothing but marched to his closet where he had kept his rifle. He put on his prosthetic hook, grabbed his gun, loaded it, and then asked Mrs. Rochester where the zombie was last seen. "Where is he?" he asked, his voice coarse with anger.

"The groundskeeper trapped him in the cellar," said Mrs. Fairfax. "But I wouldn't go down there if I were you."

Edward said no reply but started to make his way toward the cellar when Jane caught him by the arm. "I'm going with you," she said with a rifle in her hand.

"Jane," he said sternly. "In your condition, I cannot allow you to follow me."

"But please, Edward."

"If I allowed you to come to the cellar and something happened to you, I would never forgive myself. Sorry Jane, but you must stay here." He then stormed off, gun in hand.

* * *

><p>Clad in his pajamas, robe, and slippers, Edward made his way into the dank, coldness of Thornfield's cellar. Here Edward had stored some of his favorite wines as well as some assorted artifacts from his travels. He looked to his left and to his right and didn't see anything at first until he heard labored breathing coming from the far left side of the cellar, followed by a rotting stench. Edward wandered over to the side of the stairs and vomited in disgust. Despite his instant nausea from the odor, he followed the breathing sounds to a wooden crate in the far left corner. Before he could open it, a creature had busted open the crate. There, Edward stood face to face with Richard Mason in zombie form; his clothes were dirty and tattered, open sores covered his body, his skin was a light pale gray, and his teeth were completely yellow. Edward slowly backed away from the un-dead intruder, the barrel of his rifle aimed directly at Richard's head. The zombie gave a loud groan and started to slowly approach Edward who was starting to regret his decision to come down to the cellar. "Thank God Jane isn't here," he said to himself as he tried to backtrack to the set of stairs to make a hasty escape, his hand and arms shivering with fright. The zombie showed no sign of slowing down and his eyes were clearly locked onto Edward's. Edward eventually got to the stairs that led down to the basement and quickly ascended them, still watching Richard approach him with mindless abandon, moaning constantly. As Edward neared the top of the stairs, he slipped on a small puddle of water, falling flat on his hindquarters, dropping his rifle, leaving him vulnerable to a zombie attack. The un-dead creature hissed and made his way for the unarmed Edward. He tried to reach his firearm but found that he had twisted his ankle after falling down and the rifle was too far for him to reach. He tried to move his body up the stairs but made hardly any progress. Zombie Richard was inching closer to him every second, his putrid breath stirring Edward's stomach, making him feel the need to empty out its contents. Just as Edward Rochester was about to become dead (or un-dead), a shot rang out, piercing Zombie Richard's skull. He fell backward down the stairs and onto the floor of the cellar, dead as night.<p>

"Edward, are you all right?" Jane's voice came from the doorway to the cellar. She stood over Edward, holding her own rifle.

"I sprained my ankle and I'm a tad nauseous from the horrible smell but I am very much alive." He leaned over the side of the stairwell and vomited again. "Sorry about that," he said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his pajamas.

Jane, Mrs. Fairfax, and a couple of servants helped him up to the sofa in the living room. His twisted ankle was propped up by a pillow as Mrs. Fairfax made tea for Jane and a special ginger tea for Edward's uneasy stomach.

"Jane my love," said Edward. "I truly owe you my thanks."

"Oh Edward, I was scared!" Jane cried as she threw her arms around his neck. "I didn't know what was taking so long in the cellar; I assumed you would've taken care of the zombie rather quickly. So I went down to the cellar and found you lying on the stairs. Honestly, I thought you were already dead by the time I got to you." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I cannot worry too much. I must stay strong for our child," she said, clutching her abdomen.

"You are strong, my darling. You saved my life." He lifted his only hand to her chin and whispered to her with a smile on his face, "I love you Jane." He embraced his wife and kissed her. "You are loyal, loving, and strong. Don't ever forget that." He took Jane's hand in his and placed it on her pregnant belly. "You will make a fine mother."

"Thank you Edward. You will make a wonderful and loving father." The two leaned in and kissed each other again.

* * *

><p>After this incident, Jane and Edward decided to offer their services to the rest of their community as "zombie and monster hunters." People were so impressed with their talents for dispatching the un-dead that they were recommended to their friends, their family, and associates. The money earned from their "pest control" allowed them to establish the first business in England dedicated to eliminating grotesque creatures.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Jane and Edward: Monster and Zombie Hunters**

**Chapter 2**

NOTE: I don't own the rights to the book; this is merely out of love for the story. Some historical facts were changed while writing this fanfic.

The Rochesters, Jane and Edward, appeared at the front door of the home of the Reverend St. John Rivers and his new bride, Cordelia. After St. John had wrote to them, complaining of a lone zombie stuck in his old horse stable, the husband and wife creature-killing duo paid a visit and since Jane was good friends with the reverend and his sisters, the two of them offered to dispatch the zombie _pro bono_. Jane and Edward were promptly greeted by St. John and his wife and welcomed them into their home for tea.

"This happened recently, has it not?" asked Edward, sipping his tea.

"Yes," replied Reverend Rivers. "We wrote to you as soon as we found the fellow trapped in the old stable. Thankfully, he doesn't appear to be strong enough to break out."

"Do you know where he came from or how he got here?"

"No. All I know is he probably locked himself inside the stable. There's a latch that locks from the inside and I'm unsure as to why someone would construct such a thing."

"Well, after tea, I guess we'd better go and investigate."

As the menfolk continued their conversation, Jane met with the reverend's new wife, Cordelia. A stunning beauty, she had strikingly beautiful brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance," said Jane, shaking hands.

"The pleasure is all mine," Cordelia said. "My husband has told me all about you. And I finally get to meet you."

"So where did you and St. John meet?"

"In India. My father was a missionary there and we met at a church service. He was a bit cold and distant at first but we became good friends and as he was about to return to England, he proposed! My father gave him his blessing and when we came back to England, we married soon after."

While Jane thought of St. John as a good friend, she shivered at the thought of being his wife. Still, Cordelia was handsome enough and the two of them appeared to be completely in love. "I'm very happy for you both," Jane said. "He's a better match for you than for me."

"Jane!" Edward exclaimed, interrupting her conversation with Cordelia.

"Yes dear?"

Edward tossed Jane her rifle. "Enough chit-chat my dear, let's get to work."

* * *

><p>Everyone headed over to the old stable. Jane and Edward noticed that there was something in it as the door appeared as if something or someone was trying to ram it open. It was impossible for St. John and Cordelia to open the door for fear of being bitten or eaten by the trapped zombie. It was only a matter of time before the creature would break down the door and attack someone. Jane noticed a small hole in the stable wall, opposite of the door. It was small enough for her to place the barrel of her hunting rifle through. Staring down the sight, she could see the undead individual thrashing about the door. Her little finger pulled the trigger and with one shot, zombie brains had splattered all over the door to the stable. She then went around to the other side of the stable, opened the door and out plopped the recently deceased creature. Cordelia let out a cacophony of screaming and caterwauling as she ran back into the house. Edward covered his mouth to hide his laughter at the situation. Reverend Rivers stood in a state of shock, his mouth partially open.<p>

"We'll clean it up," Edward said with a smile as he clapped the reverend on the back.

"Please do," said the reverend, still in a state of shock.

Jane and Edward came home late that evening and were much too tired to eat anything. After a bath to clean themselves of their "dirty" work, the two plopped into bed. While Edward snored away, Jane, as tired as she was, couldn't fall asleep. Instead, she lay in bed, face up at the ceiling, her hand on her four-months-pregnant belly. Killing zombies, vampires, and even a mummified dog was hard work and she feared for the safety of her unborn child. Jane wondered if she could take some time away from the business and let Edward take over for the next several months. She loved this child and wanted to see it live, and hopefully, take over the creature killing business once she and Edward decided to retire. After having several restless thoughts, she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning as Jane and Edward breakfasted, they received a rather particular letter, one with a rather unique seal on it. It was red and had what looked like an imprint in it.<p>

"My goodness," said Jane upon looking at the letter. "This is the royal seal!" She looked it over. "Wonder what it could be about."

"It's probably a joke of some sort," Edward said with a mouthful of egg. "Give it to me." She handed Edward the letter. He opened it up and read its contents. Afterward, his eyes and mouth widened a bit. "This is definitely not a joke," he said. "This is from the Queen."

"What could Her Majesty want from us?" asked Jane.

"Well, apparently, they have a zombie problem and they are calling for our services."

Jane's eyes widened like saucers. "Now this is definitely a joke."

"No joke, Jane. Look at the letter." He gave it to her to read.

Jane skimmed through the note. "Apparently, their zombie problem started with a young man named Edward Oxford who had apparently been bitten by one of the undead and started going after the Queen and her consort during a procession. While Edward has promptly been disposed of, they fear that there might be more nearby."

"Well Jane, I just don't know if it's worth it. They don't mention how many zombies there are. We could be outnumbered. I wonder if they couldn't have taken care of this themselves."

"And in my condition, I'm not sure if I'm capable of taking on such a task. Last night before I fell asleep, I contemplated taking some time away from the business and leaving you in charge for awhile until our little one is old enough to be cared for by a nurse."

"And that would leave me to hire someone in your place. Someone who is not as competent as you are."

"I'm sure you could find someone who can handle a rifle."

"Handling a rifle is one thing. Handling a rifle in the face of the un-dead without fear or being squeamish is a totally different matter altogether and trust me, I've learned to deal with squeamishness. I haven't seen the rest of the letter yet; come Jane, hand it to me and see if they offer some sort of compensation for our time, labor, and travel."

Jane returned the letter to Edward and his eyes were wider than Jane's. "What the deuce!"

"How much?"

"About twice as much as Thornfield is worth. Look!"

Jane gasped at the amount of reward money offered. It would be enough to build another Thornfield and keep it running for a good while. "But do we really need the money?" she asked. "We have so much and we're living quite well."

"Only a woman would ask a question like that, Jane. The answer is 'no' but we're going to London anyway. We'll have our things packed and ready to go the first thing tomorrow morning. If you don't feel up to it, I can always find someone in London to help me out."

"But shouldn't we think about this first?"

"What's to think about, Jane? We'll be known as the 'zombie killers' of Thornfield! We'll get more business because we had rid the monarchy of the undead!"

"A while ago, you said that the monarchy was a pile of..."

"Forget what I said Jane! We're going to London tomorrow!"

Jane sighed. "All right."

* * *

><p>The trip to London was very pleasant, save for some unwanted morning sickness for Jane. It was her first trip to the nation's capital and she had never seen so many people and so many things. Edward, on the other hand, had been there a few times and was familiar with the atmosphere. Jane had never seen so many shops or people aside from traveling in Paris and Rome. Men and women wearing the finest clothes were plenty. The carriage eventually stopped at the office of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, halting Jane's sightseeing. Their belongings were to be put in their temporary lodgings separate from the office. Both Jane and Edward were to meet with the police commissioners, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne upon arrival.<p>

"Hello, and welcome," said Mr. Rowan. "Thank you for arriving on such short notice."

"Yes," said Mr. Mayne. "It is much appreciated."

"You're quite welcome, Gentlemen," said Edward extending his hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am.."

"Mr. Edward Rochester, pleased to meet you," said Mr. Mayne in a low tone of voice, shaking Edward's hand. "And this must be your wife, Jane, I presume?"

"Yes, I am," said Jane with a faint smile.

"Well, it appears that you have had a previous spouse, Mr. Rochester," said Mr. Rowan, looking through some papers. "Apparently, her cause of death was suicide."

"We know," said Edward. "It was a bit nasty." He held up his handless arm.

"Let's not get too far into your records," said Mr. Mayne. "The real reason you are here is because a young man by the name of Edward Oxford tried to kill the queen. The young man appeared to be afflicted with the zombie illness and was seen wandering toward her carriage during a procession. Thankfully, the police were at hand to dispatch him. What worries us is that there might be more of these filthy creatures out there."

"Have you found any proof of that?" asked Jane.

"Not that I know of," said Mr. Rowan, fiddling with his cravat. "We feel that you would know more about this sort of phenomenon since this is your speciality."

"You see, they want us to do their dirty work for them, my dear," whispered Edward to Jane.

Jane shushed her husband. "Yes, Mr. Rowan. Where was Edward Oxford first seen?"

"He emerged from the crowd, going toward the royal carriage," said Mr. Mayne. "He seemed to come out of nowhere."

"The first time someone had seen him, he appeared to be leaving the Bethlem Royal Hospital. He was admitted there on suspicion of madness," said Mr. Rowan. "Unfortunately, the doctor treating him at the time was promptly bitten into by Edward Oxford himself and his brains have been sucked out. There is no way to obtain the information about how Mr. Oxford was bitten but..."

"Pardon the interruption," said Edward. "But we are here to kill zombies, not investigative police work."

"Pardon my husband for he has a short attention span," said Jane. "Do continue."

"Well," said Mr. Rowan. "If you need a place to find the source of the problem, the Bethlem Royal Hospital would be your best bet."

* * *

><p>The next day, Jane and Edward visited the Bethlem Royal Hospital, known for housing those suffering from madness. Both of them felt uneasy being shown through the area full of patients who appeared to be out of their wits. Some cried. Some screamed profanities at each other. Parts of the hospital smelt of chamber pots and general filth. The staff that worked at the hospital treated the patients with general malcontent, which disturbed Jane. The treatment she received at the hands of Mrs. Reed and at Lowood were nothing compared to the abuse she had seen at Bethlem Royal. While she leafed through Mr. Oxford's records given to her by the hospital staff, Edward was frustrated with the whole thing.<p>

"What the deuce, Jane? This is nothing more than a wild goose chase! Just because a zombie attacked the queen doesn't necessarily mean that the place is crawling with the undead! Hmm, come to think of it, I think I should've committed Bertha here a long time ago."

"Edward, let's not get into that. This is important," Jane said sternly. "Besides, it was _your_ idea that we come here."

Edward said nothing but sulked.

Then Jane stumbled onto something significant. "Edward, I think I've found something!"

"Really?" asked a very bored Edward.

"Apparently, the doctor tried to inoculate him with what seems to be protection against the zombie disease and it backfired. His doctor was supposed to put him in the basement with all the other 'failed' experiments but he managed to eat the doctor's brains and escape."

"Well that's good news," said Edward.

Jane gave him a dirty look.

"I mean, in the sense that we have something to work with. Bad news for the doctor though."

"We need to find the basement to this hospital, Edward," said Jane. "If any of these individuals escape, the horror that it would cause would be indescribable."

While they were allowed access to Edward Oxford's medical records, Jane and Edward (Rochester, that is) were denied entry into the basement by the hospital staff. Luckily for the both of them, Jane had "borrowed" a map from the office of the hospital's director. The two of them made their way toward the basement, avoiding the watchful eyes of the doctors and the staff. The door to the basement had a lock on it and with no way of finding a key, Edward picked the lock with a hunting knife and was able to open the door. Nothing couldn't have prepared them for the sight that they were to behold.

Cages and cages of zombies were lined up into two rows with a walkway in the middle. All of the individuals were failed experiments in a zombie plague vaccine. Not knowing what to do with these creatures, the hospital staff had hoarded them in small areas similar to jail cells. The hissing, the moaning, and the stench were all deafening, even to Jane and Edward who had both built some a tolerance to those things. While Jane was taking mental notes of what to tell the police commissioners afterward, Edward was surveying the area and realizing that they couldn't just kill the zombies with their guns as there were more of them than bullets. Plus, using firearms would give away their position.

"Jane," said Edward. "We need to try another option than firepower. Gunshots are audible. Think, girl, think."

Jane did think and came up with an idea. "Edward, do you have any matches?"

Edward nodded and took a few out of his coat pocket and handed them to Jane. "What are you going to do with them?" he asked.

"Watch and find out." She found a jug of whiskey near the entrance and proceeded to pour it on the outside of the cells. She lit a match and the entire basement set on fire. "Edward, it's time for us to go."

The two of them left inconspicuously with Edward Oxford's medical records in tow. While no ammunition was wasted in this zombie killing, the hospital staff had a hard time trying to put out the flames. Jane and Edward turned in Mr. Oxford's medical records to the police commissioners as evidence. Those who weren't bitten by Mr. Oxford (or burned to death in the basement fire) but had a hand in allowing him to escape were promptly arrested. The Rochesters donated part of the reward money they received to build a better hospital that would provide better care for those with mental health issues. For their efforts, Jane and Edward became Lady Jane Rochester and Sir Edward Rochester by the Queen herself.

* * *

><p>Back home, Jane and Edward were welcomed with a happy homecoming and a celebration feast put on by the community not only for their part in their zombie killing services for the royals but their new titles as Sir and Lady Rochester. After all the festivities, Jane spent part of the evening mending a blanket for the new baby and nearby, Edward relaxed in a warm bath.<p>

"Jane my dear," he said as he sat back in the bathtub and put his arms behind his head in a relaxing position. "I feel good and strange at the same time."

"Why is that Edward?"

"It feels good to have the title of 'Sir' in one's name, but at the same time, it's strange. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet." He briefly slipped his head under the water and rose back up again, using his only hand to wipe the water from his face.

"Has it sunk in yet, Edward," Jane asked jokingly.

"A little," he said with a smile. "Now that I'm a bit relaxed, I think I'll retire for the evening. I'm clean enough."

"Let's get you dried off and dressed for bed, shall we?" Jane dried off her husband and helped him dress for bed, considering Edward had one hand and getting dressed is much easier with two hands. "Let's go get some sleep, love," said Jane with her arm around Edward's waist as they both headed to their bedroom.

"I originally wanted a wife and not a nursemaid," said Edward. "But I'm content to have both." He kissed her head and they both went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters**

Vampires in Verona

Chapter 3

NOTE: I don't own the characters to the fictitious works depicted in the fanfic.

Just before breakfast, Jane stood in the mirror, straightening the folds of her dress. It's been six months and the baby inside her belly was growing each week. She still wondered whether or not to continue the monster killing business while visibly pregnant. Jane put a hand to her stomach and ended up feeling a kick, which made her smile. She loved this child and would do anything possible to make sure it grew up healthy.

"Jane," called Mrs. Fairfax. "Edward is waiting downstairs for breakfast. He has a surprise for you!"

Her eyes widened, wondering what could this secret be. "Tell him that I'll be on my down in a moment." She walked downstairs to the dining room where her husband, Sir Edward Rochester, was waiting.

"Jane, I have a surprise for you," he said with a smile. "Would you like to enjoy a bit of a second honeymoon?"

"I would, Edward!"

"Good. An old college friend of mine, Gabriele Fiorello, from college offered us to stay at his villa in Verona, Italy for a week."

"That's wonderful!" Jane exclaimed. "You mean like in..."

"Romeo and Juliet, yes," interrupted Edward. "But without the suicide and the feuding, though."

"How did this all come about?"

"I haven't seen him in several years and I recently received a letter from him stating that his aging father has passed on and he had inherited the villa from him."

"When are we leaving, then?" asked Jane.

"In the next few days. That gives us time to pack our things and leave for Verona. Don't worry, our unborn child will be fine, if that concerns you."

"It does but I do feel somewhat reassured."

"Good, you'll love it there." He pulled Jane into a loving embrace. "We need a little break from the creature killing business. We'll drink some fine wine, see the sights, and spend a little more time in bed than we usually do," he said with a faint smile.

Jane smiled and kissed her husband. "Do you know if it's anything like Rome where we went to for our honeymoon?"

"I've never been there but I probably assume that it's very lovely and beautiful." Edward kissed her on the tip of her nose. "I'm sure you'll love it."

Jane and Edward made it to Gabriele Fiorello's villa in Verona. As they arrived, they were taken in awe at the beautiful artwork, the 15th century architecture, and the courtyard. The whole atmosphere seemed to be frozen in the Medieval period with nothing touched or out of place. It was about the same size as Thornfield but much more ornate. In the living room, they were greeted by a tall man about one and forty years of age with raven black hair and brown eyes. Jane knew that this was Edward's friend Gabriele.

"Ah, Sir Eduardo!" exclaimed Gabriele in perfect English. "Welcome! I see you have brought your wife, Jane. Pleased to meet you, Lady Giovanna!" He greeted everyone with a firm handshake; Jane blushed at the idea of being called Giovanna. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Alessandra Fiorello." He took her by the hand and introduced her to the Rochesters. "This is my friend, Signor Edward Rochester and his wife Jane."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," said Alessandra, blushing. "You must be tired from your trip. Leave your things here; they will be taken to your room. Come with us and get acquainted."

Jane and Edward were led into a small parlor featuring two young girls and their governess reading together. Both of them were reading English and trying to make the pronunciations of various vowels.

"Ah, my darlings!" cried Gabriele in Italian, putting his arms around the two girls. "These are my daughters, Carlotta and Emilia. Carlotta is ten and Emilia is eight." He smiled at his girls. "They've been doing well in their English lessons. Let's see how well they know." He asked them in Italian to say hello to their new visitors in English.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Rochester," said Carlotta.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Rochester," said Emilia, repeating her older sister.

Jane smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," she said.

"Thank you for that fine welcome," said Edward with a faint smile on his face.

Just then, Emilia noticed that Edward was missing a hand. "What happened?" she asked, pointing to Edward's arm.

Alessandra chastised her daughter for being rude but Edward remained cool and collective. "It's quite all right, Alessandra. She's a child, she's curious." Then turning his attention to Emilia, he said, "well, Emilia, I had a bit of an accident and unfortunately, the doctor had to remove my hand as a result."

Emilia looked puzzled for a moment and after her governess translated for her, she smiled and curtsied.

"They're doing well but still struggling a little," said Alessandra. "They're also learning French and German, too."

Jane's eyes widened. "That's wonderful! I was only taught French outside of the English language. I wish I knew Italian."

"You'll learn some throughout your stay here," said Gabriele. He then turned to the governess and told her in Italian to take his daughters to their room to continue their reading lesson.

"Reminds me of my old governessing days with Adele," whispered Jane to Edward. "I even received a letter from her recently asking if she could stay at Thornfield for the Christmas holiday."

Edward's eyes widened like saucers. "Let's discuss this matter at a different time," he whispered back.

"I see you're expecting Jane," said Alessandra. "How far along are you?"

"Six months. We're so excited!"

"I wish you two the best of luck."

Gabriele turned his attention toward his guests after his daughters have left the room. "Please be seated," he said, gesturing toward a sofa. "I have something to tell you before you settle in for the week."

Jane and Edward said nothing but nodded.

"Well, when you do settle in, I must tell you that this villa is haunted."

"Haunted?" asked Edward.

"It has been haunted since the early 15th century," Gabriele continued. "It was first owned by the Capuleto family. They had a young daughter named Julieta who fell in love and eloped with a young man named Romeo Montague. According to both family folklore and Signor Guglielmo Shakespeare, they both committed suicide."

"Signor Gabriele, are you sure you're all right?" asked Edward. "You're talking about a fictional play."

"I'm fine, Edward; let me continue. They had committed suicide but because their sin of self-murder was considered unforgivable, they became restless in their graves and allegedly haunted the graveyard for years as vampires."

"Gabriele, you're a smart man," said Edward. "Surely you don't believe this."

"Guests that stayed in this villa claimed they have seen figures walking about the graveyard at night," Gabriele said. "I believe it and I advise you to stay inside late at night."

"I'll believe it when I see it, Gabriele."

* * *

><p>That night as Edward slept, Jane kept her eye on the window of their room, which directly faced the graveyard and the family mausoleum. She got up and looked out of the window and saw nothing but rows of graves and a stone mausoleum in the center of it all. She shook her head and crawled back into bed, finding herself in Edward's arms and laid her head on his chest to try to get some sleep, which woke her husband.<p>

"Jane," he said sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Um, nothing. Just getting comfortable." The thought of the Fiorello's villa being haunted nightly by vampires brought back memories of hearing Bertha Mason's eerie laughs from Edward's attic.

"Oh all right." He gave out a loud yawn and threw his arms around Jane. "Good night, love." He then fell back asleep, snoring loudly with a trail of saliva that started to emerge from his open mouth. Now Jane was wide awake not only from the commotion coming from her husband's snoring but from sheer fear and curiosity about vampires in the villa's graveyard. Still, what Gabriele had told them may have been something to scare them after all, thought Jane. She nuzzled her head under Edward's chin and shut her eyes, hoping to sleep through her thoughts but her husband's constant snoring made sleep impossible. Jane then gently slipped out of her husband's arms and went back to the window of their room. She stared at the graveyard and noticed something out of the ordinary. She could see two shadowy figures running and walking about the graveyard. In the darkness of night, it was difficult to see anything specific about them.

"Perhaps they're two lovers in a tryst of some sort; using the night to disguise their affair," Jane whispered to herself. To get a closer look, she took Edward's spyglass and pointed it at the two figures. Soon, the duo became three as they appeared to be dragging someone out of the mausoleum. They left the individual lie there in the dark, lifeless, motionless, and probably dead. Jane let a small gasp and covered her mouth. Someone had just been murdered in the mausoleum and she had seen part of it happen under the cover of night. Then she saw the two figures again, dragging the lifeless body of someone back into the mausoleum. Jane then went to wake Edward from his deep slumber.

"Edward!" she cried. "Wake up, wake up!" She shook her slumbering spouse until he finally opened his eyes.

"What, what's going on?" asked Edward. "Is it morning yet?"

"No! This is important! I saw two people dragging a dead person out of the mausoleum!"

"They were probably trying to bury the corpse, Jane," he said in a drowsy tone of voice. "Now let me go back to sleep."

"But, but, they probably have murdered the person, Edward! I saw them drag the body out and then they came back and they're currently dragging it back into the mausoleum. Look, look!" She thrust the spyglass into Edward's chest. He rolled his eyes and sighed as he got up to the window to look.

"I see nothing, Jane," he said sternly. "I will tell you that they were probably burying someone and not trying to hide evidence of a murder. Now, if you please, let me go back to bed and don't wake me up again unless you are in labor or if it's life threatening."

"But, but..."

"Good NIGHT, Jane!" He flopped on the far side of the bed and buried himself in the covers.

"Good night, Edward,"Jane sighed quietly. She took one more look from the spyglass and found that there was nothing. Perhaps Edward was right, Jane thought. Perhaps it was nothing more than someone being interned.

* * *

><p>The next morning at breakfast, Gabriele Fiorello's face appeared sullen and gray. He didn't say much as well as his wife and children as they continued to eat. Edward immediately noticed that Gabriele seemed to be out of sorts.<p>

"Are you all right?" he asked. "You don't seem to be all right this morning, Gabriele."

Gabriele sighed and put down his fork. "Well, if you must know, I shall tell you," he replied. "One of my grounds keepers was found dead this morning in the mausoleum. It looked as if he had died from blood loss but the only wound we could find on him were small bite marks on his neck.

Edward looked up from his food. "I'm sorry to hear that, Gabriele. I give you my condolences," he said with a somewhat authentic sympathy. After all, he still thought that the whole haunted villa idea was a silly tale to scare visitors.

"I'm sorry about your loss, Gabriele. I, too give you my condolences," said Jane who realized that what she had witnessed was proof of the home being haunted by vampires.

After breakfast, Gabriele and Alessandra offered to take the Rochesters on a tour of their private vineyard for the day. While Edward was enjoying himself and even sampling some of the fare, Jane's thoughts turned to the poor grounds keeper who had allegedly had been bitten by a vampire. In order for Edward to believe her, he would have to see the whole thing with his eyes, stunted vision and all. As they got back to the villa, Jane was feeling tired from not having any sleep from the night before so she went to lie down for a little bit while everyone went to eat dinner outside. Only did Edward notice Jane's lack of enthusiasm for enjoying the activities and he followed her up to their room.

"Jane," he said. "Are you all right?"

"No," she said, lying on the bed. "I'm just tired."

"And very pregnant, I might add," he said.

"Edward, I have to tell you something."

"What is it, Jane?"

"Remember when Gabriele said this morning about his grounds keeper?"

"Jane, I can assure you that there aren't any vampires around. They probably interred him last night and that's what you saw through the window," said Edward gently. He sat down on the bed and stroked her hair with his only hand. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll go down there this evening and check." He got up and got on the other side of the bed, pulled off his cravat and lay next to Jane with his arms around her. "I apologize for being so short with you last night and I don't mean to sound unbelievable or apathetic; I just think Gabriele is making up these silly stories about his house. He used to do that in college all the time." He then moved back part of Jane's hair and kissed her neck. Jane then finally smiled a little and shivered a bit.

"I've got goose bumps," she said looking at her arms. "Are you trying to seduce me, Edward Rochester?"

"Maybe," said Edward with a grin. He continued to kiss the back of his wife's neck. Jane then rolled over to face him and the two of them began to kiss passionately. "Finally, some time alone," he said, mid-kiss. Just as Jane was about to unbutton Edward's shirt, a knock came at the door.

Jane got up and answered the door to a servant who told them that they were waiting on them to come down for dinner. They immediately straightened up and on their way downstairs, Edward lamented the fact that their passion was interrupted while Jane told them that there would be plenty of other opportunities for that kind of activity later on.

* * *

><p>"You all look refreshed and ready for dinner <em>al fresco<em>," said Gabriele with a glass of wine in his hand. "Come and enjoy the crisp, cool Italian night air." For the first time since she arrived, Jane felt much more relaxed. The Rochesters and the Fiorellos then had a fantastic Italian feast and when they thought they couldn't eat any more, the servants brought out scrumptious desserts. Both Jane and Edward were too full of food to move on to desserts but continued conversing with their hosts as they stuffed their faces with pastries and the like. Carlotta and Emilia both decided to practice their English (and impress the Rochesters) by reciting poetry by John Keats, much to the delight of Jane and Edward. After the evening festivities, the Fiorellos retired to bed but the Rochesters decided to explore the alleged vampire activity that was roaming the graveyard at night. Jane loaded their firearms with silver bullets just in case. Edward put on his trademark prosthetic hook onto the stump that once contained his hand. The creature killing duo then made their way to the graveyard and the mausoleum; their only light was a lantern held by Jane.

"Now, I'll show you that there aren't any vampires here, Jane," said Edward as he ventured toward the mausoleum and opened the door.

The mausoleum itself was dark, dusty, and filled with skeletons wearing clothing. One thing they found out of the ordinary was a niche that contained skeletal remains of someone named "Tybalto." Jane took the lantern and shone it over the remains.

"Tybalto, that name sounds familiar," said Jane. "According to the play, Juliet's cousin was named Tybalt. He was slain by Romeo in revenge for killing his best friend, Mercutio."

"Did they teach you Shakespeare at Lowood?" asked Edward, surprised at Jane's literary knowledge.

"No, I borrowed the book out of your library a while ago."

The two of them continued further into the mausoleum until they happened upon two caskets with engravings that clearly identified them as members of the Capuleta family; nearby, there was a slightly smaller casket labeled "Julieta Capuleta."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the final resting place of Juliet and her parents," said Edward. "But I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Yes, the atmosphere is quite frightening but nothing to be concerned about."

They both agreed to remove the top portion of Juliet's casket. Placing their things on the floor, Jane and Edward managed to open the casket and found absolutely nothing. What was even stranger was that there was a casket next to Juliet's labeled "Romeo Montague." They both opened that casket to discover nothing in it as well. As soon as they covered up both caskets, they heard noises coming from the entrance of the mausoleum. They turned around to see a young couple and what looked like the grounds keeper from the previous night. The couple were dressed in traditional 15th century attire, their skin was a pale gray, and their eyes were piercing blue; they also bore fangs. The grounds keeper was dressed appropriately for the current time period but he too, bore fangs, piercing blue eyes, and pale gray skin.

"Now do you believe me?" said Jane sternly. "Those three vampires look like Romeo, Juliet, and the grounds keeper."

"Yes, I do," he sighed. "Now hand over my rifle."

Soon, the zombie couple began to speak to each other and to the grounds keeper. Since their conversation was in Italian, Jane couldn't make anything out of it but Edward was able to translate their words to a certain extent.

"What are they saying Edward?"

"They're wondering why we're here and they're wondering how good our blood would taste. That's what I _think_ they're saying. My Italian is a bit rusty."

Jane cocked and loaded her rifle and shot one bullet that went straight through the arm of Romeo. He grabbed his arm and proceeded to run in Jane's general direction before Edward fired off a bullet into Romeo's side. He collapsed and Juliet and the grounds keeper both made their way toward Jane and Edward, their blue eyes locked directly onto the creature killers of Thornfield. Jane fired off one round after the other, bringing down both vampires. This gave her and Edward time to escape the mausoleum and shut the door. Just as our hero and heroine thought themselves to be safe, several vampires started to emerge from their graves, one by one. Both Jane and Edward were outnumbered and there wasn't enough silver bullets to slay them all. Then, Romeo, Juliet, and the grounds keeper emerged from the mausoleum, limping from their wounds. Jane and Edward could only run back inside the house away from the vampire horde. They tried to go back the same way they came out but found the door to be locked. They tried every door to the villa but all were locked shut.

"We need to find a good hiding place," said Jane, out of breath from running.

"We could disperse them with our silver bullets," said Edward. "Then we hide, wait until morning, and then tell Gabriele the whole thing."

"Those bullets are not inexpensive, Edward. We need to save some for emergencies."

"This _is _an emergency, Jane," said Edward. "Besides, we're not destitute and we can afford more silver bullets."

They unloaded round after round onto the oncoming vampire horde and eventually ran out of bullets. Then Jane and Edward suddenly found themselves cornered on the side of the villa with no way of a safe escape. They then threw their arms around each other.

"Jane, it was nice knowing you," Edward said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Edward," Jane said with a tear from her eye.

The two of them shared a kiss, prayed, and then huddled together. Just as they thought they were about to become vampires themselves, the sun started to rise. It peaked up over the mountains and eventually started to make its way into the sky. The vampires, in unison, stared at the yellowish orb rising into the sky. Their skin and their bodies began to erode and most of them screamed in pain as they died a quick and painful death due to sunshine. One by one, they all fell into the ground. Jane and Edward immediately thanked the Good Lord above for sparing them from a rather uneventful (but interesting) future.

* * *

><p>The week at the Fiorello villa was almost over as Jane and Edward Rochester spent the morning at the Fiorello's private church where they observed Mass. Edward initially refused to go, claiming that he didn't believe in the Papist church but was eventually talked into going by Jane and Gabriele's wife, Alessandra. Since they had rid the villa of the vampires that haunted it, the Rochesters were treated to several outings by the Fiorellos, including a small side trip to Mantua during the course of their stay. Near the end of the week, Carlotta and Emilia wrote and acted in their own English language play which Jane and Edward enjoyed immensely. Instead of going directly back to England after their stay with the Fiorellos, the Rochesters took a small trip from Verona to Venice for a couple of days and even shared a kiss under the famous Bridge of Sighs while riding in a gondola. They eventually came back to Thornfield full of stories, good food, and even brought home some wine from the Fiorello's private vineyard.<p>

One night as Jane and Edward were lying in bed, with Jane doing some needlework and Edward reading his Bible, Jane decided to tell Edward something - important.

"Edward dear," she said.

"Yes?"

"I have thought about this for some time and I feel that I should take a break from our creature killing business for the sake of our child." She put down her needlework and patted her pregnant abdomen. "I know it's asking too much of you but..."

"It's not too much," interrupted Edward with a smile. "Take as long as you need." He reached over with his only hand to pat her stomach and ended up feeling a kick. "Oh my!" he exclaimed. "That's something I've never felt before. Doesn't that keep you awake at night, Jane?"

"Yes it does and so does your snoring," she said with a laugh.

"Me? Snore?"

"Yes, Edward. When we were at the Fiorello's villa for the first night, you snored so much that you kept me awake."

"Well, I'll try not to snore tonight then," he said. "Good night, my darling." Both husband and wife shared a kiss and went promptly to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

1**Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters**

Chapter 4

The Werewolf Bandit of London

NOTE: I don't own the characters; this is out of love for the story. Some of the places (e.g. cities and small towns) and people in this fanfic are fictional.

In the dead of night as stagecoaches carry money, goods, or food or even people, a masked bandit makes his move, his face obscured by a neck scarf except for his yellow, beady eyes and the tufts of fur peaking out of the scarf. Riding alongside a stagecoach on a black stallion, the creature points his gun and shoots the coachmen dead, leaving the goods inside for the taking. Once in human form, he uses his ill-gotten wealth for parties, clothes, women, and pretty much any vice known to man. London police have placed a reward on the bandit's head for his capture, dead or alive. As the werewolf continues to terrorize incoming stagecoaches, lives will be lost as well as valuable goods.

Meanwhile in Thornfield, lived Lady Jane and Sir Edward Rochester, also known as the "Creature Killers of Thornfield" because of their business of ridding the community (and sometimes the world) of undesirable monsters and demons that lurk about. After a grueling nine months, Jane had given birth to a son, Henry Edward Rochester. She had also taken leave for several months while Edward had to run the business with a temporary helper, a young, 20-year-old lad named Johnny Rungood, who detested the work (and sometimes fled at the mere sight of a zombie) but enjoyed the pay that came with it. When little Henry Rochester passed six months of age, he was found a suitable nanny while his mama and papa went to work, killing zombies and other undesirable creatures; much to the relief of Edward who hated working with Johnny and happily parted ways with him. Still, Jane and Edward spent a lot of time with their little one, playing with him, bathing him, dressing him, and reading the Bible to him at night.

"Good morning, my little man," said Jane, picking up Henry out of his crib. She kissed his forehead and he stared at his mama with a sweet, little smile. His little arms and hands waved about as Jane made funny faces at him and eventually laughed.

"Good morning, you two," said a smiling Edward. "I'm looking forward to a visit by the reverend and his wife today."

"It will also be the first time he'll meet St. John and his wife Cordelia," she cooed to her son. Henry turned his head and looked at his papa and waved his little arms with excitement.

"I think he wants me to hold him," said Edward. He took the little infant into his own arms with the help of Jane. "Good morning, young man," he said. Edward walked him to the window of his study and let Henry peer outside of the window, overlooking the huge property. "Someday this will be yours, little man." He gave his son a kiss on the cheek and walked him around his study, bouncing him in his arms. Both father and son smiled at each other during this activity but about five minutes later, Henry started to cry and Edward surrendered him back to Jane.

"Oh, come here, my little man," she said. She held him close to her shoulder and soothingly patted his back. "Don't worry Henry," she said. "We're going to have fun today!"

Reverend St. John and his wife Cordelia came to call about two hours later. They were thrilled with the newly rebuilt Thornfield as well as the new addition to the Rochester family. Cordelia was thrilled to hold little Henry in her arms.

"He seems so calm and content," she said as Henry looked at her wide-eyed and smiling. "St. John and I might consider children in the future. For now, we'd like to have some time to ourselves." She then passed Henry over to Edward.

"Time alone is always good," said Jane, taking a sip of tea. "A child is a great responsibility."

"Especially when they try to get into your valuables," said Edward, trying to keep his son from prying the pocket watch from his vest. "No, no, little man; that belongs to Papa. It may be yours someday, but not right now." Henry smiled at his father and giggled. "You're a little rascal, aren't you?" He gave his son a kiss on the lips and held him on his lap. "Nonetheless, children are truly a gift from God."

"Exactly," said Reverend Rivers. "No matter how much they seem like 'rascals,' as you put it, they are God's gift to us. Remember the passage in the Book of Mark where the disciples rebuked the children going to see Jesus but He welcomed them with open arms and told His disciples..."

"We know, we've read the story before," interrupted Edward with a polite smile on his face.

"Sorry. I'll save that for my sermons," Reverend Rivers said with a grin.

Then Edward decided to let his son play with his watch anyway. "Oh, why not." Edward took out his pocket watch and let Henry put his hands on it, making sure it didn't go into his son's mouth.

"He can be a handful sometimes," said Jane. "I can count on my hand the nights that we've been able to sleep through without being awakened by Henry's crying."

After the visit, the Rivers wished the new parents well and went on their way. After the nanny put Henry down for a nap, Edward found a letter on his desk. It was addressed to him and his wife Jane and again, it had the royal seal on it. He called Jane into his study to have a look at the letter. It was from the police commissioners, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne. The letter offered them slightly more money than the reward offered for the investigation of the zombie attack on the queen. They read with horror that a werewolf bandit was on the loose in London, killing innocent people and stealing goods from their stagecoaches.

Edward was furious at this heinous, criminal act. "Why that little bast..."

"Edward, watch your language," interrupted Jane.

"Thank you. Anyway, the police have their hands full with this clout and they want us to take care of the situation, again."

"We could do it, but what about Henry?"

"We could leave him here with the nanny and Mrs. Fairfax. I trust the both of them to take good care of him while we're gone."

"What if something happens..."

"Calm down, Jane. I have everything arranged in the case of our uneventful death. Remember, St. John and Cordelia are Henry's godparents and they have offered to take him in should something happen to us. Remember, we get ourselves in danger every day doing the work that we do."

"That's true. Might as well start packing for London," Jane said with a sigh.

* * *

><p>Almost a year later, they found themselves in the same office of the police commissioners, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne. The two police commissioners were ready to brief the Creature Killers of Thornfield on their next major assignment. As the gentlemen gathered their paperwork, Edward fidgeted in his chair, trying to get comfortable.<p>

"Jane, I can't remember the chair feeling this small," he whispered to his wife. "I think I may need to stop eating Mrs. Fairfax's apple pie in the evenings. But I still can't help the fact that she's an excellent cook."

Jane shushed Edward. "Now is not the time to discuss your dietary habits, dear."

"Ah, so we meet again," said Mr. Rowan.

"Hello Mr. Rowan and Mr. Mayne," said Jane, shaking hands with the two gentlemen.

"Hello Mr. Edward Rochester," said Mr. Rowan, shaking his hand.

"Hello to you too."

"Do you understand why we called you back?" asked Mr. Mayne.

"Yes," said Jane. "There has been some sort of werewolf that's been terrorizing the stagecoaches coming into England."

"They occur at night from our knowledge," said Mr. Rowan. "The fellow hides along the roadside and ambushes the coach drivers by shooting them dead at point blank range and then takes whatever loot is salvageable. He does transform back into a human in the day time and uses the stolen money and valuables for himself from what we've heard. We don't know who he is, though."

"It has gotten to the point where delivering and receiving the royal mail is considered risky," said Mr. Mayne. "We need your help."

"We will be glad to be of service," said Jane. "Can you tell us the roads that this individual frequents?"

Mr. Rowan gave Jane and Edward a map and pointed at various eras of London. "Mainly the roads leading out of the north of London, though he is known to attack elsewhere."

"How do people know that this man is a werewolf if none of them survive the ambush?" asked Edward.

"There are some folks who are lucky to make it out alive," said Mr. Rowan.

"Do you know of any way of bringing down this individual?" asked Jane.

"If we did, the fellow would've been caught by now," said Mr. Mayne. "That's your job as the professionals."

"We have our work cut out for us Jane," whispered Edward. "We'll just hide out at night and catch him."

"It's not going to be that easy," Jane whispered back. "But we've dealt with worse."

Mr. Rowan gave them a list of survivors who have seen the werewolf bandit. "One of them claims he knows the man who is the bandit but we don't have enough evidence beyond that claim."

"Thank you gentlemen for this information," said Edward taking the paperwork from the police commissioner.

The police commissioners finished speaking with Jane and Edward and offered them an official invitation to a royal ball the next evening with the Queen and her consort in attendance. The two decided to go since Edward hadn't been to a ball in ages and Jane had never even set foot inside a ballroom. This prompted Edward to give Jane some quick dancing lessons that involved his foot getting stepped on a number of times. Still, they looked forward to it and Edward decided to go out and buy Jane a beautiful dress for the occasion as well as some beautiful jewelry.

* * *

><p>That evening, they were introduced as Sir Edward and Lady Jane Rochester, the Creature Killers of Thornfield and were treated to a rousing applause, especially by Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert. Jane had never seen anything so ornate aside from traveling to Paris and Rome. She had also never met so many distinguished individuals in her life, especially the Queen.<p>

"Her Majesty takes pleasure in meeting you again," the Queen said. "Your service to us is much appreciated."

"Thank you, your Majesty," said Jane dropping a small curtsey. "It is truly an honor."

"It is truly an honor," said Edward. "Now where's the food?"

Jane said nothing but gently elbowed him in the stomach.

"I retract my last statement," Edward said, holding his stomach.

"As my wife said, we are truly appreciative of your efforts to rid London of these monsters," said Prince Albert, shaking their hands. "We should make both of you police commissioners," he said with a smile.

They all shared a laugh and then everyone was seated for dinner. The Rochesters found themselves seated to Sir Nathaniel "Nathan" Maxwell, a land owner whose wealth rivaled that of Edward's (and about ten years younger than Edward). He was somewhat handsome with brown hair and strikingly blue eyes. He was friends with the son of a member of Parliament and enjoying the atmosphere and scouting the area for lovely women to flirt with. He happened upon Jane and stared at her lustfully as she ate her dinner.

"Pardon me, Miss," he said. "I couldn't help but notice you have an empty glass. Would you like for me to fill it with champagne?"

"I'm fine but thank you anyway, Sir," Jane said.

"I'm curious to know," said Sir Maxwell. "I'd like to invite you to be my first dance partner this evening."

"No thank you. Besides, I'm eating at the moment."

"But you won't be eating soon as you'd be finished with your meal and ready to dance with me," he said with a lecherous smile.

"Please leave me alone," Jane said.

Sir Maxwell ignored her plea. "I'm sure your husband the creature killer wouldn't mind."

"Pardon me, Sir Maxwell," said Edward calmly but firmly. "My wife is vexed by your flirtations. I ask that you cease your seductive advances on her immediately." He did not wish to start a physical altercation with this man, especially in front of the Queen.

"Very well," said Sir Maxwell with a smile. "I will leave your wife alone. Besides, there's a great deal of women far prettier than her that are here at the ball this evening." He finished his meal and left the table. This left Edward seething with anger.

"How dare he compare you to those primped up peacocks in diamonds!" he muttered under his breath. "He has a great deal of nerve to attempt to seduce you in my presence!"

"Edward, calm down," said Jane, putting her gloved hand on his arm. "Let us enjoy this evening and not let this man spoil it."

"Yes dear," he said. "Besides, I need to be in good spirits if we are to dance."

When they were dancing, they noticed that Sir Maxwell's eyes were locked onto them. Jane and Edward simply ignored his stares and continued to grace the ballroom floor with their dancing. For Jane, it was a surreal experience; she was moving in time with several other wealthy people, especially the Queen and Prince Albert. Never in her life would she imagine dancing at a royal ball much less dancing at all. While she and Edward were having a grand time mingling with the upper class on the dance floor, Jane did the unthinkable.

"Ow! My foot!" Edward exclaimed, quickly retracting his foot in pain. "Jane, please be careful where you're stepping!"

"Edward, I'm so sorry."

The two of them vacated the dance floor in embarrassment as several people watched, especially Sir Nathan Maxwell. He smiled and delighted in their shame. "They call these two the 'Creature Killers of Thornfield?'" he said to a couple of women who danced with him previously. "Perhaps, if the creatures they killed were cockroaches." They all laughed and then Sir Maxwell looked at his pocket watch. "Well ladies, it was a pleasure dancing with you ladies this evening. Perhaps we could meet again sometime for lunch or dinner or something else entirely," he said with a sly smile and a wink. The women giggled and bid him farewell as he left the ballroom in a haste. As he was making his way down the outside corridor, he ran into the Jane and Edward conversing with each other. He hid in a doorway as to obscure himself from their view while listening to their conversation.

"Edward, I was confused on that last step and that's how I ended up stepping on your foot."

"It's quite all right dear," he said. "I guess dancing takes more than just a day's worth of lessons." He gave her a hug and a kiss. "Besides, there are things that are much worse than being embarrassed in front of a bunch of stuffy royalty."

"That's true," Jane said. "I'm tired anyway. I ate too much food and danced too long. Let's go to bed. In the morning, I would like to see if the police commissioners know any of the surviving witnesses who have seen this dreaded werewolf bandit; I would like to speak with them, especially the man who claims he knows the bandit's identity."

Sir Nathan Maxwell heard enough. He withdrew from the area and secretly left the ballroom to a waiting carriage nearby. "To Gideon's home, now!" His coachmen complied and they whisked their master off to a nearby neighborhood. They stopped in front of a small home near a busy London street. A hooded figure emerged from Sir Maxwell's carriage, carrying a large knife. The figure's black, gloved fist firmly but gently rapped the front door, awaiting the person that was about to answer it.

* * *

><p>The next morning, bright and early, Jane and Edward took a carriage over to the home of a physician, Dr. Gideon Maxwell, the older brother of Sir Nathan Maxwell. According to police reports, he is the only one who claims to know the human identity of the werewolf bandit. The man, three and thirty years old, had just married a young woman of one and twenty, Anne Crawford, the daughter of a business owner. The creature killing duo looked over their notes as their carriage stopped at Gideon Maxwell's place of residence. They approached the door, knocked a few times and didn't hear anything or anyone. Edward then noticed that the front door was unlocked so they both entered the home and found a trail of blood leading to the bedroom. What they found there was disturbing.<p>

"My goodness!" gasped Edward. "You don't see this every day, Jane." He heard a mild 'thump' but no voice. "Jane? Jane, darling?" He turned to his left side to find that Jane had fainted at the horrific sight. "Jane!" he exclaimed, shaking her back to consciousness.

"Edward, we need to get out of here, NOW!" she screamed. "We need to contact the authorities!"

Apparently, the grisly sight the Rochesters had seen were the bodies of Dr. Maxwell and his wife, Anne, in a bloody heap on the floor, their throats slit. Tears welled in Jane's eyes. They will never come back, she thought. They will never have a future nor a family. Whoever had done this horrible deed apparently did not want Dr. Maxwell saying anything. The Rochesters left the scene and went straight to the police commissioner's office. While Mr. Mayne was out of the office at the moment, Mr. Rowan was ready to receive them immediately.

"Did you find anything from Dr. Maxwell?" he asked them.

"More than we would like to see," Edward said. "The poor fellow and his wife have been murdered!"

"Murdered? What do you mean?"

"We knocked on the door and there was no answer," said a still-shaken Jane. "There was a trail of blood leading to their bedroom and we found them both dead. Someone had come into their home and apparently slit their throats."

"I'll send some men and Mr. Mayne down there immediately," said Mr. Rowan. "I guess the bandit doesn't want his identity to be found."

"As much as I don't like Sir Nathan Maxwell, I feel incredibly sorry for him," said Edward.

Just as Edward finished his statement, he found Sir Maxwell in the police commissioner's office, obviously there to report the murder of his brother and his sister-in-law. His demeanor was quite calm and he even made a joke or two with the authorities. Then he caught the eye of Jane and Edward and immediately tensed up.

"Sir Maxwell," said Edward. "I want to tell you how sorry I am about your brother and his wife."

"Yes, both of us are sorry about what happened," Jane said.

Sir Maxwell became even more tense. "That's quite nice of you to say those things," he said stiffly. "I'll see you later." He immediately walked out of the commissioner's office.

"That's strange," whispered Jane. "I would've expected him to be incredibly distraught."

"He doesn't appear to be distressed or upset in any way," Edward whispered back. "It's as if someone had caught him lying about something."

The creature killing duo brushed off Sir Maxwell's mannerisms and went back to looking through reports of eye witnesses who saw the werewolf bandit. Every one of them had the exact description; black hat, black cape, a black scarf over the mouth, black boots, black trousers, etc. Edward figured the only way to catch him was to dress in black as well and hide beside a road and wait for him to attack a random stagecoach. Since mobility was an important issue, Edward would also have Jane dressed in similar attire, which was discussed after they reached their lodgings.

"You want me to wear WHAT!" exclaimed Jane.

"Darling, it's for your own good," said Edward. "Your dress will only hinder you from your work so I feel it's best that you wear something similar to my clothing; black trousers, black coat, black..."

"Edward, I'd feel..."

"Calm down Jane, my love, my light of my life," said Edward soothingly. "It's only for tonight. It isn't as if I'm asking you to replace your daily attire with men's clothing."

"Fine," she said sternly.

"Good. I already had everything made for you." He laid out Jane's garments for her on the bed. Jane had a puzzled look on her face. "Try them on, Jane," Edward said.

"All right." She changed out of her dress and stays and put on the trousers, shirt, vest, cravat, coat, hat, cape, gloves, and boots and posed in the mirror for her husband.

"You don't look half bad," he said. "I think you need to retie your cravat but otherwise everything looks all right."

"I agree except that I feel that I should be in a gambling parlor," said Jane. She then tied a black scarf around her mouth and took out two pistols from the attached holsters and pointed them at the mirror.

"You look quite menacing, my dear," said Edward with a smile. "I would be afraid to pick a fight with you in a dark alley at night."

"You're just saying that because you're my husband," chuckled Jane. "This isn't as bad as I thought. As long as the wardrobe is temporary."

"Now we're ready to personally escort that blasted werewolf to Hell!" thundered Edward with a smile. Both of them cocked and loaded their firearms with silver bullets and prepared to do battle with the menace that was the werewolf bandit.

* * *

><p>It was ten o'clock in the evening and many folks were just settling down for the night. There was no need for anyone to be out on the streets at this hour, however, two black-clad individuals were lying in wait on the side of a nearby road to town. Jane was laying on her stomach in some tall grass, her face obscured by a black scarf and eye-mask, her eyes staring down the sight of a shotgun. A fly buzzed and landed on her nose but she could not swat the irritating insect away. The fly eventually flew off and Jane continued to be on the lookout. Across from her was Edward, hiding in some nearby bushes, his spyglass just barely peaking out of the leaves. If the werewolf bandit were to come by, Edward would signal to Jane by pulling the spyglass out of view. The both of them had no idea on how long they would have to wait or even if there was a stagecoach and a bandit coming at all. The two agreed that they would lie in wait all night if they had to. A drop of sweat had made its way into Jane's eye and it mildly irritated her but she never once wiped it away. The trousers she wore were feeling a little itchy but she didn't do anything about it. Her total concentration was on the road and any creature passing by with intent to do harm would not make it out alive.<p>

About an hour later, Jane and Edward both heard the sound of multiple hoof beats. At first, the noise was quite faint but then increased as the noise drew nearer to our heroine and hero. It was a stagecoach all right and right next to it was a cloaked and masked individual with tufts of fur peaking out. Apparently, one of the coachmen was trying to drive the horse while the other one engaged in gunfire with the rider - the werewolf bandit. Edward pulled in his spyglass into the bushes and Jane opened fire - just missing the bandit's head and knocking off his hat. Edward slapped his face and shook his head. "No, Jane, no! Bad shot!" he whispered to himself. While the coachmen drove their vehicle down the road to safety, the werewolf bandit was startled by the shot but couldn't find where it came from. Jane took a deep breath, aimed again and pulled the trigger, this time hitting the bandit's horse in the right hind leg, causing him to rear up in pain and dump his rider to the ground and promptly fall to the ground himself. The bandit then got back on his feet and stumbled a bit; apparently, he had broken his leg after unceremoniously being "bucked off" by his horse. He unconcealed his face by pulling off the mask and scarf - revealing his furry complexion and screamed, "where the deuce are you, bloody cowards! Show yourselves!" He produced his pistol and started to shoot randomly into the grass, bushes, and trees. Jane had to do something before she or her husband were shot to death. She took one last aim, stared down the sight, and her finger pulled the trigger, sending the bullet crashing into the werewolf's cranium. The werewolf dropped his sidearm, stumbled a few steps, and promptly fell dead in the middle of the road. Jane and Edward emerged from their hiding places and stared at the dead werewolf.

"It took you three shots, darling, but you got him," said Edward.

"I'm sorry, I got nervous," his wife replied. "Also, my facial disguise was uncomfortable, which added to my accuracy problem."

"I understand. We'll need to work on that once we get home. We can't have you shooting like this when we're facing greater danger. However, the werewolf bandit is dead and stagecoach drivers can continue doing their job without fear."

Soon, they heard more hoof beats. The local constable came with a few officers at his side to see what happened. When they learned that Jane and Edward had eliminated the werewolf bandit, they were incredibly pleased. They escorted the creature killing duo and the body down to the constable's office. There, the body began to morph from werewolf to human form and the bandit's identity was surprising. The individual behind it all was none other than Sir Nathan Maxwell. Apparently, Sir Maxwell was bitten by a rabid wolf and subsequently "treated" by his older brother, Gideon Maxwell. The disease hadn't healed but enabled Sir Maxwell to turn into a werewolf at night where he used both animal and human cunning to rob stagecoaches of their goods, thus making more money than he did with his investment properties. Dr. Gideon Maxwell recently learned about the symptoms of his brother's illness and would've told authorities if he hadn't been murdered by his own brother - the knife found on Nathan's person was stained with blood, pinning him as the murderer of Gideon and his wife Anne, leaving their older sister Rachael Carwood, aged five and thirty, as the only surviving sibling. The Rochesters collected their reward and donated half of it to Mrs. Carwood and her husband to help pay for the funeral costs as well as to pay for the education of their five children.

* * *

><p>Jane and Edward eventually made it home to a smiling Mrs. Fairfax holding little Henry Edward Rochester in her arms. The baby smiled and clapped his hands with glee as he saw his parents enter their home.<p>

"He was such a good boy during your trip," said Mrs. Fairfax. "Of course there were times that he cried for his mama and papa but he was incredibly well-behaved."

"Like any Rochester should be," said Edward smiling as he took his son into his arms and lifted little Henry into the air. "Hello little man," he said. "Mama and Papa are home!" He gave his son a kiss on the cheek and held him close. "We missed you terribly." He then passed Henry on to Jane who then cuddled him even more.

"Mama's home, love," she said, kissing him. "I missed you so much, Henry."

"You two must be tired after your trip home," said Mrs. Rochester. "Let me prepare some tea."

As Mrs. Fairfax left for the kitchen, Jane and Edward sat next to each other on the sofa, facing the fireplace with Henry in Jane's arms. Henry then made his intent to put his mouth on his mother's necklace.

"No, no love," she said, prying her necklace out of Henry's hands. "Putting Mama's jewelry in your mouth can make you very, very sick." When Mrs. Fairfax brought them their tea, she removed the necklace from Jane and offered to put it in her jewelry box.

"Wonderful tea, Mrs. Fairfax," said Edward.

"Would you like some apple pie to go with it?"

"Well, yes," Edward started. "You know, on second thought, I'll pass."

"Pass? On my apple pie? Mr. Rochester, are you ill?" She immediately put the palm of her hand to Edward's forehead.

"No, I'm not ill," Edward said. "I think I may need to eat my sweets and pastries in moderation as to keep my figure."

"Round or an hourglass, Mr. Rochester?" Everyone started to laugh.

"Either one, as long as I'm healthy," he replied with a chuckle.


	5. Chapter 5

Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters

Chapter 5

The Alien Abduction of Adele Varens...and a groundskeeper

Note: I don't own the rights to the characters or the book; this is out of pure love for the story.

In a galaxy not too far away was a vehicle that appeared to be a spacecraft of some sort, headed for Earth. This spaceship had the resemblance of a barn in order to fool the humans on the planet Earth, making this alien invasion much easier. At the helm of the barn spaceship were two aliens from Mars; Zorog the smart one (well, some of the time anyway) and George, the idiot. Unfortunately, the two of them were in a heated argument, causing Zorog to stop paying attention to piloting the spaceship.

"But, but Zorog!" cried George. "I wanna go to Italy! I haven't had spaghetti in ages!"

"We'll go wherever I'M driving, George!" snapped Zorog. "Besides, I'm flying this thing and you're not."

"Please!"

"NO!"

Immediately, the barn-like spaceship crash landed in the dead of night into a field in an English countryside. Other than some scratches, the spaceship seemed in pretty good condition. After their landing, Zorog really let George have it.

"Now look what you made me do! We were well on our way to Canada and then you had to butt in..."

George was shaking and apologetic. "I'm sorry Zorog, I just wanted to get spaghetti."

"It's all right. Let's get this thing started so we can get back on route to Canada unless we can find some decent souls to steal right here. Wait, what's that?" Zorog grabbed his spyglass and looked out of the window from the spaceship to find a groundskeeper with a lantern stumbling about in the dark.

"Let's get him!" George said, hopping up and down, his weight causing the floor of the helm to shake.

"Stop it, George. Stop jumping!" cried Zorog. "He'll see us."

The elderly groundskeeper was clad in a nightshirt, cap, and slippers, clutching a lantern with one hand and holding a rifle with another. He had heard a large sound outside and at the request of his employer, he set out to investigate. He nearly slipped in the dewy grass as he made his way to what seemed to be a large barn. He had never seen this barn before and figured that he was either still dreaming or he had consumed one glass of wine too many last night. Still, he trudged on and saw the barn door open, with a ray of light beaming out of it. The groundskeeper made his way inside the barn and the door promptly shut behind him, locking him inside.

The next morning in the Rochester household, Edward was feeling lethargic as he sipped his coffee and read the morning paper at the breakfast table. One of his servants was sent to investigate a large noise outside of Thornfield and apparently never came back, causing him to stay up all night waiting for him. Sitting opposite of him was his wife Jane with their one-year-old son Henry on her lap. Sitting next to her was Adele Varens, Edward's former ward and now newly adopted daughter. After a bad experience at school, he requested that Adele be sent to another school nearby his home and decided to adopt her, despite his doubts about himself as her paternal father.

"Mr. Roberts was an excellent groundskeeper," sighed Edward. "I've known that man all my life. I'm just worried that something may have happened to him. I've sent my other employees to find him but they came up with nothing."

Jane said nothing but put her hand on her husband's and patted it.

"I'm sure they'll find him soon, Papa," said Adele with a slight French accent. Her schooling helped improve her English-speaking ability.

"I hope so," Edward said quietly.

"Papa," said little Henry, his arms reaching out.

"Papa doesn't feel well right now, love," said Jane. Let's go see Miss Allred, shall we?" Jane escorted him to his nanny, Miss Allred, whose younger sister Louisa was allowed to stay with the Rochesters during school holidays and was good friends with Adele.

"I'm finished eating breakfast," said Adele. "May I go outside with Louisa?"

"You may," said Edward. "And please be careful. I don't want anything happening to you."

"Thank you Papa." She ran outside to join Louisa and their chaperone (and Grace Poole's replacement), Miss Rebecca Walsh, while Edward sat moping at the breakfast table. Jane returned to join her husband after she gave Henry over to his nanny. Edward stared at his plate, his eggs remained untouched and uneaten. Jane then went behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Edward patted her arm with his remaining hand.

"I pray to God that we find him alive," said Edward.

* * *

><p>Fortunately, Mr. Roberts, the groundskeeper, was alive and well. Unfortunately, his hands were tied behind his back and he was held prisoner by the aliens who had crash landed on Mr. Rochester's property the night before. Interrogations by Zorog and George were less than fruitful.<p>

"So you're saying that your leader is a woman?" asked Zorog.

"Yes," said the groundskeeper. "Her name is Victoria. She is the queen of England."

"Where is she? Can you take me to her?"

"Oh, I know, I know!" said George, raising his hand and jumping up and down. "She's from Mercury, right?"

"Shut up, you imbecile! I was talking to our captive! Besides, the whole ship shakes every time you jump up and down."

"Sorry, Zorog."

"Her palace is in London and that's at least 60 miles away from here," said Mr. Roberts. "Now can you please let me go?"

"I'm afraid I can't," said Zorog. "You know too much about us now."

"I promise I won't tell a soul, sir."

"I wish I could take your word for it but I can't. George, send him back into his cell."

As George escorted Mr. Roberts back to his "prison" cell, Zorog breathed a sigh of confidence. He now had one human in his possession and once he captured enough, he would head back to Mars to use said humans as slave labor. He went to his chair at the helm of the spaceship and reclined, his arms behind his head. Just as he was about to take a midday nap, something caught his grossly large eye. A young girl, about twelve or thirteen years of age was running through the grass. She appeared to be eluding another young girl of the same age in some sort of children's game. He eyed the young girl as she appeared to be nearing the front door to the spaceship. Immediately, he opened the door to the ship, and overhearing her run inside, saying, "they'll never find me here." Zorog then slammed the door shut and locked it. The girl turned behind her and ran toward the door, pounding on it and trying to yank it open, to no avail. Zorog then made his way to the bottom floor of the spaceship and to meet his newest victim.

"What have we here," he said slyly, looking at the frightened girl. "Who are you?"

"Adele. Adele Varens. Please let me go! I want to be with my parents."

"Well, that's nice to know. Tell me, who are your parents?"

"Well, they're not my real parents," Adele said, stammering with fear. "They've ad-ad-adopted me."

"What happened to your real parents?"

"I don't know what happened to my real father but my real mother died."

"Interesting." Zorog stood with his scaly arms folded, his free hand stroking his chin. "George, take her away!" he called to his incompetent assistant.

"All right!" George said enthusiastically as he lumbered toward Adele who screamed when she first caught sight of him. After a brief struggle, he picked her up, kicking and screaming, and escorted her to a cell. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "We have lots of food here so you won't starve." Zorog slapped his face in frustration and shook his head.

* * *

><p>Miss Rebecca Walsh and Louisa Allred ran frantically into the Rochester household, the former worried that her job might be at stake for losing Adele. The three of them were playing hide-and-seek when Adele ran off and seemingly disappeared and they spent a good hour looking for her. They met Edward in the living room with his wife Jane who was busy with some needlework. Edward noticed that the both of them looked scared and nervous.<p>

"I didn't mean to lose her," Miss Walsh said nervously. "I-I-I was keeping my eye on her the whole time and she just ran off and..."

"Wait a minute," said Edward. "Miss Walsh, Louisa sit down please," he said, gesturing toward a small sofa. "Now tell us what happened."

"Well," said Miss Walsh. "Myself, Louisa, and Adele were playing hide-and-seek and while Louisa and I went to count, Adele ran off to hide and we couldn't find her! We've been looking for her for an hour!"

"The most important thing to do is not to panic," said Edward in a calm voice. "Perhaps she's in a good hiding spot."

"But something must be out there," said Louisa. "Remember what happened to Mr. Roberts?"

"Yes, I'm still aware of that," Edward said. "But you were playing a hiding game. She's probably hiding in some bushes."

"We tried calling her name for an hour, Mr. Rochester," said Miss Walsh. "You would think she would've responded to her own name being called by now."

"All right," he sighed. "Let's go look for her." He put on his prosthetic hook, grabbed a hunting rifle and encouraged his wife Jane to get her shotgun and told Miss Walsh and Louisa to stay behind. "Don't leave this house for anything; this is for your own safety."

Jane and Edward then made their way outside, calling Adele's name but hearing nothing in response. They looked behind every tree, through every bush, and near every hill they could find but no Adele. Edward feared that Louisa may be right; whatever happened to the groundskeeper certainly happened to Adele. They continued looking for her, calling her name until their voices were hoarse. After thirty minutes, they sat down to rest near some trees. Edward dropped his head down between his legs, frustrated, angry, and worried. Jane was trying to keep herself from crying; after all, Adele was now her daughter and she meant the world to Jane. Finally, she broke down and Edward put his arm around her, tears running down his face as well. After crying, Jane poked her head up and noticed a barn on their property.

"Where did that come from?" she asked, pointing to the barn.

"I have no idea," replied her husband, wiping his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, that thing never existed until now."

"Perhaps we should check there. Adele may have ventured in."

"All right. Let's go."

Jane and Edward ventured toward the mysterious barn which opened up its doors immediately upon their arrival. Once inside, the door slammed and the two of them found themselves face-to-face with a hideous, scaly creature with huge black eyes and clad in what seemed to be tight fitting trousers and a bigger, similar looking creature with huge black eyes and a very stupid grin on his face.

"Zorog, they keep coming in! Finally, we'll have enough for...yeeooowww!"

"That's enough George," said Zorog, stepping on his friend's foot. "We don't want to frighten our guests."

"Guests? We aren't your bloody 'guests,'" said Edward. "I don't know where you came from or what the deuce you are but your barn is trespassing on my property!" He aimed his hunting rifle right in Zorog's face. "Leave my property at once or face the consequences!" Zorog remained unfazed by Edward's threat.

"Testy, aren't we," said Zorog. "I have a little weapon of my own. Say hello to this." From his waistband, Zorog produced a small, futuristic-looking pistol and aimed it at both Jane and Edward. "I ask that you drop your weapons immediately and we'll settle this silly quarrel in a civil manner."

"That little thing?" asked Edward in jest. "Really now!"

"You want to see how this gun works? Allow me to demonstrate." Zorog aimed his small pistol at the ceiling, pulled the trigger and a huge blast of fire surged through the barrel. He then lowered the barrel to his lips, blew the remaining smoke away from it, and then put the gun back in his waistband. Immediately, Jane and Edward complied and surrendered their guns.

"What do you want from us, then?" asked Jane.

"I want you to be taken away from me and locked in a cell," said Zorog, gesturing George to take the both of them away.

"I thought we were going to be sorting this 'thing' out, civilly," said Edward.

"We are," replied Zorog. "This is how I do it. George, please escort our guests to their new prison cell."

"All right, Zorog!" said George euphorically, grabbing Edward by the back of his collar and Jane by the back of her dress.

"You brute!" snapped Jane.

"Why thank you for the compliment, m'lady!" George said with a grin.

"That wasn't a compliment," muttered Edward.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, George deposited the infamous Creature Killers of Thornfield into a somewhat spacious prison cell and locked the door, their hands tied behind their backs. "You all have a wonderful time," George said cheerfully. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of you so you will be good slaves for us." He locked the prison door and skipped happily down the aisle, with Jane and Edward feeling every vibration from it.<p>

"Why the bast...I mean, devil," Edward muttered. "There, I corrected myself before you could."

"That doesn't matter now, Edward," Jane said. "How do we get out of here?"

"We've been asking ourselves the same question," came a familiar voice from the other side of the cell.

"Mr. Roberts?" said Jane. She turned her head to find him with his hands tied along with another captive.

"Mama, Papa!" cried Adele. "I knew you would come for us! We prayed and prayed and you finally came for us!"

"These fellows happen to be from the planet of Mars," said Mr. Roberts. "They crash landed here in this barn that they refer to as a 'space ship.' They plan to kidnap enough humans to go back to Mars to use as slave labor."

"I must certainly be dreaming," sighed Edward as his eyes rolled in disbelief.

"I thought the same thing when they captured me," said Mr. Roberts. "I even thought about swearing off that French wine you brought back a few years ago. I guess this isn't the result of one too many drinks because it certainly doesn't feel like a hallucination."

"Well," said Edward. "Do you have any ideas on how to get out of this deuce of a rat trap?"

"They took all of our weapons but they didn't take your prosthetic hook," Jane said. "Let me sit back to back with you so I can see if the hook can at least cut the rope."

"I'm not sure it will work but we have no other options." Edward had a hard time trying to maneuver himself to allow his hook to cut the rope tied to Jane's hand. After Jane was freed, she untied Edward and the both of them untied Mr. Roberts and Adele.

"Now what do we do, Mr. Rochester?" asked Mr. Roberts. "We're still locked in this cell."

"There's no keyhole, either," said Edward. "Just some strange panel with colored lights and buttons just outside of the barred gate." He turned to look at the unlocking panel to find George guarding the cell while sleeping at the same time; Edward's hunting rifle was nestled safely in his arms. "Now is our chance," he whispered. The guard is asleep." He put his hand through the bars and with the tip of his prosthetic hook, tried every button-light combination he could think of, and managed to open the cell. "Everyone needs to be quiet." He put his right index finger to his lips as a gesture to everyone to remain silent.

Jane, Edward, Mr. Roberts, and Adele snuck past the sleeping George. Jane slowly pulled her husband's rifle out of George's arms and handed it to him. They then scurried quietly into another room just in time to elude Zorog walking by with a cup of coffee. In the other room was Jane's shotgun and Mr. Roberts' rifle, which they collected and hid when they heard Zorog chastise George for allowing the prisoners to escape. As they frantically ran about the ship looking for the missing humans, Edward had to devise a plan that would allow them to escape and force the unwelcome trespassers off of his property.

"We can't just kill them right now," said Edward. "If we do, then that eyesore will be stuck on my property forever."

"We could threaten them to leave," said Mr. Roberts. He cocked his rifle. "By gunpoint."

"Well, we could but they have much better guns than we do," said Jane. "Didn't you see that pistol they have that shoots fire instead of bullets?"

"That was frightening," said Adele with a shudder. "I never want to see that again."

"Well, from where I was questioned, I noticed that there was a huge panel of sorts," said Mr. Roberts. "There's some sort of dial that, when turned, will automatically pilot this barn to a certain location, however, there's some sort of one minute delay before this thing actually leaves."

"Good to know," Edward said. "Let's hear my plan."

After much discussion, the foursome looked around to find Zorog and George at the helm of the spaceship, still arguing about allowing their captives to escape. Edward thought about just quietly leaving them there to bicker but realized that they would still continue to be a threat to the community as well as his property. He snuck up behind Zorog, pointed the tip of his hunting rifle at the back of his scaly, leathery bald head, and cocked it. Just before Zorog could turn his head around, Edward poked him with the tip of the gun.

"If you have a weapon in your possession, I highly suggest that you put it on the ground immediately," said Edward in a threatening voice. Both Jane and Mr. Roberts pointed their firearms at Zorog's left and right side, respectively. Zorog raised both of his hands slightly in the air. "If you have anyone else in this rat trap of yours, I suggest that you release them this instant."

"I don't have anyone in here other than the four of you," said Zorog nervously, raising one hand and extracting his pistol out of his waistband with the other, putting it down on the ground.

"I don't believe you. Show us."

"There's only one cell on this spaceship and you were all in it."

"He's right," said Mr. Roberts. "I didn't see anyone else in here other than them."

"Shush, Roberts."

While Edward and company were busy holding Zorog up at gunpoint, Adele decided to make friends with the dim-witted George. She stood next to him near the helm of the spaceship

"So what does this do?" she asked, pointing to a dial on the helm.

"Well, um, when you turn the dial, the spaceship goes to a certain place in the galaxy. We're from Mars and when you turn the dial to Mars, that's where the spaceship goes. I would like to go home to Mars because I'm feeling a bit homesick."

"Well, then why don't you go home then?"

"Well, that sounds like a good idea. Then Mars it is!" George then set the dial to the planet Mars. Adele turned to face Edward and winked, signaling that George had, in fact, set the ship to pilot itself back to the fourth planet from the sun. She snuck behind Edward as the four of them set to make a hasty retreat. Zorog turned around to find out that he'd been had.

"Stop humans, stop!" he cried, reaching on the ground for his fire gun. Before he could pull the trigger, a shot rang out and hit Zorog square in the forehead, killing him instantly.

"Wonderful shot, Jane," said Edward. "Now we have about 45 seconds to leave this thing before all of us are escorted into outer space."

George went to his dead friend's side. "Aw Zorog! How could they do that to you? I sure don't want to visit Earth ever again. Humans are scary. I'm glad we're going back to Mars though I would like to go to Italy for pasta." Just as the last 20 seconds were ticking down, George took Zorog's fire gun and followed the retreating humans for some revenge. Edward, Adele, and Mr. Roberts all made it out fine but Jane came running out, the end of her dress completely in flames after George, in a moment of clarity, pulled the trigger on the fire gun directly at her. Just as everyone made it out, the spaceship that looked like a barn took off, headed back to Mars where it came from. Immediately, Mr. Roberts doused Jane with a pail of water to extinguish the flames.

"Thank you, Mr. Roberts." She shook her arms and squeezed the water out of her hair.

"Well, I'm glad that nightmare is over," said Edward. "It's starting to get dark. Let's go inside and have some dinner. I'm sure everyone else is worried sick about us." They all went inside where a hot meal and a warm pot of tea were waiting for them.

* * *

><p>A week later, Jane had walked over to a makeshift firing range that her husband Edward had built in the back of Thornfield for the both of them to practice only to find him showing Adele how to fire a rifle. Worried and angered, she ran to Edward and tapped him on the shoulder, facing him with a sour expression and folded arms.<p>

"What do you think you're doing, Edward Fairfax Rochester!" she snapped. "Why is _our_ daughter holding a firearm? Don't you have any idea that she could possibly maim or kill herself with that thing!"

"Papa is teaching me how to use a rifle in case of a monster attack," said Adele with a smile on her face. Jane put her hand on her face and shook her head in response.

"Well, how else is she going to defend herself if she's surrounded by the undead or even creatures from outer space?" asked Edward. "A girl must know how to defend herself against creature and zombie attacks. A few days ago, I went into town and bought this small hunting rifle because mine is too big for Adele. I just want her to be prepared." He helped Adele steady her new firearm and watched her aim down the sight for a good shot. "Good girl," Edward said to Adele. "One day you'll be good as your mother," he continued, turning his head in Jane's direction, causing her to sigh and roll her eyes. "Besides, she is practicing under my tutelage so she is perfectly safe."

"But not when she's almost thirteen, Edward!" she exclaimed.

"Jane my love, there is nothing to worry about," Edward replied calmly. "I have given her strict restrictions and lessons on using her new rifle so that she will not point it at herself or any innocent human being for that matter. Once we are done practicing, it will be in my study under lock and key."

"All right," Jane sighed, throwing her hands in the air. "I give up; let her practice her marksmanship even though I feel it's unnecessary."

"Mama," said Adele. "Watch this!" She took aim at what appeared to be an old wooden pail filled with water. She took one shot and hit the pail, draining it of its contents.

"That's really good, Adele," said Jane in a slightly nervous tone of voice.

"Now why don't you be a good example to your daughter and show her what real marksmanship is" said Edward with a sly grin on his face, sauntering over in his wife's direction. "Or perhaps you think it's 'unnecessary.'" He tossed Jane her hunting rifle.

"Edward, line up a row of six empty wine bottles for me; I'll show Adele how to _really_ shoot." She loaded her gun and cocked it and then took aim and fired at each empty bottle, one after another nonstop until there was nothing left of them but shattered glass.

"Mama, you're wonderful!" cheered Adele. "You're better than Papa; he can't do _that_!" Edward said nothing but blushed in embarrassment.

"That's how it's done, my love," said Jane. "I'll teach you how to do that when you're older." She smiled and winked at Adele. "Come, let's go inside for tea."

"Have you ever tried that?" Adele asked her father in reference to Jane's feat of marksmanship.

"Only once and I ended up grazing my horse in the head, nearly killing the poor creature."

"You really need to work on your aim, Papa."

End of Chapter


	6. Chapter 6

Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters

Chapter 6

The "Revenge" of the Vampire...and Edward gets a new hand

NOTE: I did not write _Jane Eyre_; this is out of love for the novel.

Edward Rochester scratched his head one morning while reading the paper. His wife Jane was knitting and Adele was busy playing with her younger half-brother, Henry, on the floor nearby. With every funny face Adele made, little 2-year-old Henry would giggle in delight. Adele, now fourteen, had just come home for the holidays from school and was hoping to garner favor with her father to attend the annual Winter Party held at Thornfield. However, Edward was somewhat wary, fearing that his now blossoming daughter would attract the wrong attention. He continued reading his paper, focusing his attention on a particular advertisement put in by a scientist who claimed he could create artificial limbs for those who have lost use of their biological ones.

"Jane," he said, pointing to the advertisement in the paper. "Look at this." Jane leaned in from her knitting to look. "There's a fellow in here that can create artificial limbs for those who have lost the ones they were born with. If I can get back my left hand, that would certainly make my life a whole lot easier."

"I'm not so sure," Jane said, putting down her knitting materials. "I see advertisements all the time for almost everything now, especially so-called doctors claiming laudanum is some sort of cure-all."

"Oh that's different, Jane. This is new and innovative. No one's ever tried to successfully recreate actual hands, legs, arms, fingers, and toes until now. Besides, laudanum is what probably made Bertha Mason's condition worse than it really was to begin with. Grace Poole would give her spoonfuls of that stuff on a daily basis thinking that it might calm her down."

Edward then turned his head to watch Henry "ride" Adele like a horse with Adele telling him that her back was starting to get tired.

"All right Henry," he said. "Be a good boy and let your sister rest. Adele, send for Henry's nanny, please."

"Yes Papa," Adele replied. She helped Henry down and before taking him to see his nanny, she turned to her father and said, "Will you still let me attend the Winter Ball, Papa?"

"I'm still thinking about it, my dear. I understand that it's in the next two days and you're quite eager to go but I do need time to mull it over."

Adele sighed briefly and led Henry out of the room by the hand. Edward resumed talking about this new limb-creating idea, hoping to sway Jane's cynical opinion.

"Think about it, Jane. I won't have to wear that silly hook anymore. I can finally have two opposing thumbs for once."

"I understand that, Edward, but..."

"Besides," he said, interrupting his wife as he leaned in closer to her. "If you're walking or lying next to me on my left side, we can finally hold hands." He smiled at Jane with a bit of a seductive look on his face, took his right hand in hers, held it, and kissed it. He then draped his arm over Jane's shoulders and still glancing at her seductively, said, "with a new hand, I would not only be able to hold your hand, but you as well." He leaned in and kissed her. "What do you think?"

Jane, now feeling a little flushed and somewhat pleasurable, replied, "Well, you've been able to hold me well enough with one hand."

"Well, that's certainly true but two would allow me to hold you closer." He winked at her and kissed her cheek.

Jane smiled at her husband, ran her finger playfully from the tip of his nose to the bottom of his chin and said, "Well, all right, if it makes you happy."

"Thank you, my little elf," said Edward with a smile. "I've always figured the magic of seduction would allow you to see my point of view." The two of them then started kissing passionately just as Mrs. Fairfax came in with some morning coffee.

"My goodness!" said Mrs. Fairfax.

"Oh, um, sorry," said Jane with a chuckle, pulling away from Edward. "We were just, um, talking."

"Yes," said Edward. "We were, um, talking about, uh, things."

"I see you two were doing more than just idle chit chat. Anyway, here is your coffee." She placed their drinks in front of them. Before leaving the room, Mrs. Fairfax said, "Besides, I don't really mind at all how many hands Mr. Rochester has."

* * *

><p>Sometime later, Jane and Edward were on their way into town to see about this new artificial limb business. Jane was naturally a little nervous but Edward was incredibly eager, and somewhat giddy, to give science a chance to complete his missing body part, one that was lost in the fire at Thornfield. With his vision now restored, all he needed was a hand and five fingers to make himself feel whole again.<p>

The carriage stopped at a small home that matched the address on the paper advertisement. Jane and Edward exited the carriage and approached the front door. Just as Edward raised his fist to knock, he heard footsteps and then heard the door opening. The two saw an old man with wiry gray hair and an undone cravat standing before them. The old man greeted them with a smile.

"Hello," he said. "My name is Dr. Erwin Sheffield, how do you do?"

"Well, hello Dr. Sheffield, my name is Jane, Jane Rochester and this is my husband..."

"Edward!" cried Dr. Sheffield. "Edward the Creature Killer of Thornfield and his wife, too! I was wondering when you two would come by!"

"Really?" asked Edward.

"Well, how can you hunt the undead with just one hand?"

"I have a hook on my left stump. See?" He showed Dr. Sheffield the hook and the stump which his left hand used to be.

"I see, I see. Well, don't just stand there, come in, come in!"

Both the Rochesters entered Dr. Sheffield's modest home. They were welcomed into his parlor where his wife, Madeline, graciously gave them some claret. The doctor pulled out some paper and a pen and prepared to take notes.

"So tell me," said Dr. Sheffield. "When did you lose your left hand?"

"Probably about four and a half years ago."

"So I see." The doctor pulled off Edward's hook and further examined Edward's stump. "How did you lose your left hand?"

"In a fire."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," said Edward. "I wish to not divulge any further details about the matter."

"All right then, that's fine," said Dr. Sheffield. "Now tell me which one of your hands is the dominate one."

"My right hand."

"All right. Now do you think that having a new left hand would make your life easier?"

Edward, growing tired of the questions, replied, "Yes, or otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"All right, then, let's get started." He led Jane and Edward into a makeshift laboratory filled with all sorts of machinery, chemicals, and animal specimens, which made the hair on Jane's neck stand on end. He then put Edward in a chair, strapped him in and inserted his left arm into a device of sorts. The doctor then went back towards a lever attached to the device.

"All right ladies and gentlemen," declared Dr. Sheffield. "Here it goes!" He then pulled the lever toward his body and lights atop the machine began to light up. Sweat poured from Edward's brow and down his face and neck while he bit down on his lower lip as the limb-making machine did its work.

Five minutes later, the Creature Killers were out of Dr. Sheffield's home and toward their carriage. While Jane was reading some legal waivers they had to sign prior to the procedure, Edward was touching and feeling his new left hand for the first time. The doctor's experiment was a success and Edward's left hand was made out of a special material that felt and resembled human flesh with pieces of steel acting as bones. Because of their fame as creature killers, Dr. Sheffield performed the procedure at no cost. In return, the Rochesters invited him and his wife to their annual Winter Party.

"See Jane, there was nothing to it." Edward constantly closed and opened his left hand and began to touch his right arm with it. "God has graciously given this man the talent and the knowledge to help those with missing limbs to live fulfilling lives. This is a miracle!" As they approached the carriage, Edward surprised his wife by picking her up and placing her in the carriage. "That was for when we first got married; I couldn't pick you up and carry you over the threshold." He climbed in the carriage on Jane's right side and took her hand in his new one. Jane responded by putting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so happy for you," she said. "You're just like your old self again."

"Not quite. Prior to Bertha's death, I was a selfish fool. Now I'm slightly older and very much the wiser. Now that I'm in a wonderful mood, I think I'll allow Adele to attend the party." He kissed his wife's forehead as they took their carriage back home.

Adele was waiting in the parlor along with Henry and his nanny when Jane and Edward came home. The moment Jane closed the door behind them, she ran up to see her father's new artificial left hand and marveled at it. Little Henry Fairfax toddled over and his papa graciously picked him up with both hands and propped the little fellow upon his shoulders, and pranced about the room, much to Henry's delight. After Father and Son played briefly, he then gave Adele his blessing for her to attend the Winter Party.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yes, I mean it. I feel that since you will be in our presence, you will be quite safe."

"Thank you Papa!" She gave her father a hug that nearly knocked him off of his feet and nearly squeezed the life out of him.

"You're welcome," squeaked Edward as he slowly peeled Adele away from his mid-section.

* * *

><p>At the Winter Party, everyone was pleased to meet Edward as he showed off his new prosthetic limb. After fielding questions about the procedure, he then introduced his friends and family to Dr. Sheffield, who was then surrounded by people asking about everything from limb replacement to the addition of more limbs. While the doctor conversed with the guests, Edward introduced Adele to the rest of the party attendees. Her plain brown hair was now shining, her complexion fair, and her dress exquisite as Jane bought the gown and jewelry as a sort of an early Christmas gift. After living in near poverty in Paris, Adele was finally feeling good about herself as everyone marveled at how beautiful she was. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Jane and Edward mingled with their guests, Reverend St. John Rivers and his wife Cordelia were sharing the good news about expecting their first child, and Reverend Rivers' sisters showed off their new husbands.<p>

Meanwhile, just outside Thornfield Hall in a stable, a group of Edward's foxhounds were all sound asleep in a group with the one exception being Demon, who seemed to sniff something out of the ordinary. He noticed some rustling in some nearby bushes and trotted off nearby to investigate. Putting his wet nose to the ground, he followed a scent trail into the bushes and was surprised by two sparkling eyes staring back into his. Immediately he barked a warning as he fled back to the safety of the stable. The incessant barking seemed to ward off the intruder in the bushes until one of Edward's groundskeepers came to see what was going on. When Demon barked in the direction of the stranger, the groundskeeper made his way into the bushes, only to be fatally attacked. Demon stared at the stranger with the blue eyes and growled, which served as a warning for the individual to back off.

Demon went back to the safety of the stable and started to paw at the back door, barking as loudly as he possibly could, all through the night. His nonstop vocalization went on deaf ears as most of the windows were kept shut from the night air. It wasn't until the next morning that Edward wondered where the groundskeeper was as he was the individual who walked Edward's foxhounds. He also noticed that Demon seemed tired and out of breath, as if he had been barking a great deal. Sensing something wasn't right, Edward sent his own dog, Pilot, to find anything suspicious. Almost immediately, Pilot was circling around a bush, barking and wagging his tail. Edward followed over and found the corpse of one his groundskeepers dead, complete with a pair of fang marks near his neck. His body was pale, lifeless, and drained of blood. Edward clasped his hand to his mouth and gasped. Overwhelmed, he stumbled over a few feet away and vomited. He then rushed back into his house and into the dining room where his wife Jane and children were breakfasting.

"Good morning, Darling," said Jane with little Henry sitting on her knee. "Would you like to have some eggs and toast?"

Edward said nothing but shook his head. His face was completely white, his complexion appeared to be lethargic in nature. He sat down, shaking as if he were cold, took his wife's hand in his and swallowed hard, tears welling up in his eyes. Jane quickly handed Henry to his nanny and told Adele that she would be speaking with her father in private. She then led Edward into his private study so the two of them could speak. With his lips still quivering, Edward spoke the word, "Dead."

"Dead, who's dead?"

"Mr. Roberts, one of the groundskeepers."

Jane put her hand to her mouth and gasped. "Oh my!" she cried. "He's worked at Thornfield for at least four and a half decades!"

"He's known me ever since I was born, Jane," he muttered, fighting the urge to cry as some men are wont to do. "I found him dead in some bushes nearby the stable. It appears that Demon had tried to bark for help but all the shutters were closed. Mr. Roberts probably found something in the bushes and it attacked him and killed him."

"Do you have any idea how he died?"

"The set of fang marks on his neck gives me the impression that a vampire has taken him, Jane." Edward couldn't bear it any longer and started sobbing loudly. Jane took him in her arms and allowed him to continue to cry on her shoulder. "This is not the way he shouldn't have gone, Jane. He was too good to be bitten by a blood-sucking scoundrel!" He continued to vent his grief on his wife's shoulder while she cradled him a little bit.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Edward. We'll make sure that Mr. Roberts' death was not in vain."

* * *

><p>Mr. Roberts' funeral was modest; those in attendance were Jane, Edward, and a few servants in Mr. Roberts' employ as well as his daughter and her husband. The inquest into his passing confirmed Edward's suspicions that it was the result of a vampire attack near Thornfield. Until further notice, Edward banned all travel at night near his home unless everyone rode in groups armed with rifles and shotguns. With Christmas just a week away, Edward took it upon himself to find the vampire and dispatch it before holiday activities were to commence. One morning, he noticed the door to the Rochester family mausoleum was slightly ajar. He pushed open the door but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.<p>

That night, Jane was getting ready to retire for the evening when she found her husband peering through the window with his spyglass.

"Do you see anything?" she asked.

"Well my little elf," he said. "Not much. This morning I noticed that the door to the family mausoleum was open somewhat, which is unusual but there's nothing out of place, nothing overturned, or anything of that sort. It's frustrating not to...oh my!"

Edward's eyes widened like dinner plates; he continually adjusted the focus on his spyglass and then thrust it into Jane's chest.

"Look!" he exclaimed. "Look near the mausoleum!"

Jane took the spyglass and looked through it. She could see a shadowy figure making its way out of the mausoleum. It managed to cross the road and over the fence into a neighbor's field where it appeared to have planted its fangs into the neck of a cow, sucking its blood completely and then maneuvering back into the mausoleum.

"Did you see that?" asked Edward, still wide-eyed.

"A vampire just sucked the blood out of Mr. O'Reilly's cow." exclaimed Jane.

"It appears that we now owe Mr. O'Reilly a replacement for one of his milking cows."

"Not just that, Edward but now we know why the door to the mausoleum was open. Someone that died in your family is a vampire."

"Well, who could it possibly be? I doubt it could be my mother or my father." Then Edward gulped and whispered a prayer, "Please God, not my father; anyone but him."

"Remember what happened in at your friend Gabriele's mansion?"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone who commits suicide has a great chance of becoming a vampire, Edward."

"None of my relations committed suicide." Then Edward paused. "Unless..."

"Bertha Mason!" exclaimed Jane. "She jumped off the roof when you were trying to save her in the fire!"

"Even in death, this woman makes my life miserable." He plopped down on their bed, holding his stomach. "Jane, I think I'm going to be violently ill..."

"You have nothing to worry about, Edward." She then held out a few fingers on her hand to illustrate a point. "First of all, she's still dead," Jane stated, pointing at one finger. "Second of all, your marital obligations ended the moment she committed suicide and thirdly," she said, raising her eyebrows at her husband. "Do you really think the church will recognize a 'marriage' between a mortal and a vampire?'"

Edward immediately wretched into a nearby chamber pot. "That's good to know," he muttered, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his nightshirt. "Darling, I apologize for that. I just don't want to go through the stress of that whole ordeal again."

"Or perhaps it was the pheasant you had for dinner this evening."

Ignoring his wife's comment, Edward said, "We need to get to the bottom of this. From what we've seen so far, Bertha is the only vampire on the premises, which makes it easier for us to dispatch her."

"We need to do something before someone or something else dies," said Jane. "It's almost Christmas and a vampire in the family mausoleum is the last thing I want to think about at the moment."

"We could go out right now, Darling," suggested Edward. "And take care of Bertha once and for all."

"Not tonight Edward. You got sick not too long ago."

"I'm fine now, Jane. It was the anxiety of seeing Bertha back from the dead. Besides, she now has blood on her hands as she killed one of my servants as well as Mr. O'Reilly's cow! I'll be damned if I _don't_ do something soon!" He stood next to his wife and put his hands on her shoulders. "Jane, it's up to us to save Christmas here at Thornfield. We cannot allow Bertha to literally suck the life out of every living thing she comes in contact with."

"I'm really too tired to..."

Edward interrupted Jane. "Too tired to dispatch a vampire? Well, just now you said you wanted to be rid of the damned pest before Christmas. Jane Eyre Rochester, this is no time for procrastination!"

Jane sighed heavily. "Fine, Edward. I'll do it."

"Good. Now let's get changed and venture outside."

* * *

><p>Sometime later, the Creature Killers of Thornfield along with Edward's dog, Pilot, trudged out to the mausoleum and found it closed shut. With his new hand, Edward pulled the mausoleum door with incredible ease. They ventured into the dark, dusty room, full of Edward's deceased family members and ancestors. Far in the back was Bertha Mason's stone coffin. Again, Edward's new hand was helpful in removing the top of the casket and the two of them found Bertha lying perfectly still, a set of fangs protruded from her lip as well as a ring of fresh blood surrounded her lips, proof that she had her fill of blood that night. Edward put a finger to his lips to signal for Jane to be quiet as he removed a wooden stake from inside his coat. His hands shook as he held the stake just above Bertha's heart. Just as he was about to take out his hammer and drive the wooden sliver into the vampire's heart, Bertha's eyes suddenly opened, her mouth opened just enough to bear her front teeth and fangs.<p>

"My God, she's awake!" cried Edward.

Bertha hissed and grabbed Edward's wrists in an effort to pull him down into the coffin but he managed to break free. Dropping the wooden stake, Edward pulled out his pistol, aimed it at Bertha but she managed to wrest the firearm from him and aimed it at her attacker. This prompted Jane to pull out her own pistol and aim it at the vampire's forehead, but Bertha pulled the trigger, grazing Edward's left leg. Edward fell down, grabbed his injured limb and let out a stream of profanities. Just as Bertha the Vampire was getting ready to fire again, she felt a sharp pain in her neck as Jane had just shot her near her throat. Bertha grabbed her bleeding neck, screamed bloody murder and collapsed in her stone coffin. To make absolutely sure she was dead, Jane picked up the wooden stake and, with a hammer Edward had carried with him, drove the giant sliver into Bertha's chest. Bertha's body immediately eroded away, leaving nothing but her skeleton.

"Finally!" exclaimed Jane. "She put up quite a fight, Edward."

"Yes, she did," said Edward. "Now how am I going to get back inside with this devil of a flesh wound?" He had managed to stand up and apply his handkerchief to his leg, which was now covered in blood.

"Put your arm around my shoulders and I'll help you inside." Edward complied and the two of them slowly made their way back inside Thornfield.

"Thank you, Jane," said Edward as they walked inside. "You saved my life...again."

Jane smiled and kissed her husband's cheek. "Think nothing of it, Edward."

* * *

><p>Christmas morning arrived at Thornfield Hall. The occasion called for a huge feast for friends and family. Edward was managing well with his leg despite having to walk with a cane. Everyone gathered before a huge turkey, held hands and said grace, thanking God for their food, their lives, and one less vampire in the neighborhood. After everyone's bellies were full of good cooking and libations, they chatted, sang, and some received gifts, especially Mr. O'Reilly when the Creature Killers gave him the money to purchase another cow to replace the one that had been killed by Bertha. When Jane was awaiting Edward's gift to her, he explained that he preferred to give her gift in private. When the guests left and both Adele and Henry were asleep, Edward led his wife into their bedchamber.<p>

"Now close your eyes," he said.

"Oooh, this must be good, Edward," giggled Jane.

"It is and it is also important that you keep your eyes completely shut."

"All right." She closed her eyelids and covered them with her hands for good measure.

Edward then hobbled over to his night stand and pulled out a long jewelry case. He opened the case and pulled out a gold necklace with a ruby pendant.

"Jane dear, keep your eyes closed but put your hands to your side."

She complied and Edward draped the piece of jewelry around her neck.

"Keep your eyes closed," Edward said as he guided her to a mirror. "Now you may open your eyes."

Jane opened her eyes and gasped. "Edward! You didn't have to..."

"I had to, Jane. I was in town last week and saw it and I knew you would love it. It's simple, not too gaudy. In other words, it's just right for my little elf."

Jane beamed a smile at her husband. "Thank you my love." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Edward then stepped behind his wife and took her by the waist. "I'm glad you love it, Jane. Merry Christmas, my darling." He then held her close and kissed the nape of her neck.

"Oooh," said Jane. "You're making me blush!"

"Good." He then seductively whispered into her ear. "What do you say we get ready for bed?"

"I'd love to." Jane then turned around, untied her husband's cravat, and casually tossed it aside on the bed, along with his coat. She then looked into his eyes and said, "Merry Christmas, Edward."

"Merry Christmas, Jane," said Edward just before they shared a passionate kiss. Just as he was about to unbutton his vest, Edward heard a knock at their bedroom door. "Oh, what now?" he sighed. "Can't a man be intimate with his wife without interruption?" He hobbled over and answered the knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," answered Mrs. Fairfax. "Mr. O'Reilly is at the front door, saying he found a trapped zombie in his stable."

Edward sighed. "Wonderful," he said sarcastically. "So much for a romantic night with my wife."

The End


	7. Chapter 7

1Jane and Edward: Zombie and Monster Hunters

Chapter 7

A-Trolling We Will Go

NOTE: I don't own _Jane Eyre_; this is out of love for the novel.

On a cold winter's night in Norway, a small deer made its way across a snowy field from one side of the forest to the next, seeking shelter from the white flakes falling from the sky. It ran deftly from shade to shade and finally making it to the cluster of trees hiding what seemed to be a large cave. It poked its nose in the air, sensing what seemed to be a safe shelter and made its way inside the cave. It inched closer and closer inside the stony opening to find a lighted area with a fire and savory smells coming from what seemed like a cooking pot, surrounded by some of the most grotesque creatures ever seen. Most of them had heads full of red hair. They wore animal skins for clothes and huge fang-like teeth projected from their mouths. They spoke a language quite different from English and their ears were pointed like ones seen on elves. They heard the sounds of the deer coming into their shelter and immediately set their eyes on the creature. One of the older creatures turned to a younger creature that appeared to be his son, then pointed at the deer and made a chopping motion with his arm. The young man-creature nodded, grabbed his axe and made his way toward the furry intruder.

The grotesque humanoid chased the deer out of the cave, axe in hand. The minute the two sped out of the stony cave, the young humanoid knew that the deer had the upper hand as it ran out of sight and he, into a tree. With dinner long gone, the humanoid grunted in frustration and turned to go back to his cave dwelling when he spotted something else: in a clearing, there was a man bent over what seemed to be a horse lying on the ground. He couldn't outrun a deer but he could definitely catch up to an actual human and a horse would be a bigger meal than a deer.

A gentleman with no business being out in the snow now found himself stuck. His horse's leg had broken and with no help. He was a stout man of about three and forty with black hair and a fair complexion. Despite appearing to be healthy and strong, the man stumbled about, looking for a nearby farm or house but managed to find a stony encampment. Here, he could wait out the night and then find help in the morning. As he inched closer, a creature appeared out of the woods, grabbed him and dragged him, screaming and writhing to the cave and summoned several others of his kind to retrieve the injured horse.

"Let me go!" the man cried. "Don't you dare harm my horse!"

The young humanoid ignored the man's pleas and dragged him further into their dwelling. More of the elf-like humanoids gathered together with torches, lighting the way for those bringing in the man's horse. From the light, the man could make out not just a small cave but a whole community of huts and small houses full of these creatures (he could no longer speak as his captor's hand was firmly over his mouth). The man was eventually thrown into a cell-like apparatus. He was left wearing only his shoes, pants, and shirt while his top hat, coats, vest, and other articles of clothing were taken away. The cell guard was a menacing fellow; his muscles were far bigger than any human male and carried a sword on his belt and an axe in his hand. The man gripped the cell bars and looked across the way as there were other people imprisoned with him; both men and women but no children. The man's eyes widened in surprise and he mouthed the word, "_trolls_."

* * *

><p>One bright morning, Edward Rochester was at the breakfast table, reading his usual morning paper while his wife Jane had fallen ill in the morning and decided to stay in bed after not being able to keep certain foods down. Mrs. Fairfax had sent for the doctor and he arrived just as Edward had started to read a story about people being abducted in the night by strange creatures. That would have to wait for now, thought Edward as he directed the physician to their bedroom where Jane was lying in bed with a chamber pot nearby. The color in her cheeks appeared and she started to feel a little better but the doctor insisted upon an examination and Edward went into his study. Sometime later, the exam was finished and the doctor appeared quite cheerful as he walked into Edward's study.<p>

"Well," said Edward. "How is my wife? Is she well? Is it a fever of sorts?"

"No fever," replied the doctor. "She will be just fine. In fact, I have great news for you."

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Good news, you say. Do tell."

"Your wife is with child," said the doctor. "The illness she had this morning is quite normal for women who are expecting."

Edward smiled and shook the physician's hand. "Thank you sir." He clapped him on the back.

"You're quite welcome, Mr. Rochester. I had given Mrs. Fairfax some instructions on how to care for Jane."

"Thank you good sir," said Edward. "After having a son three years ago, this time should be a bit easier." He turned his back and poured a glass of alcoholic libations. "A little brandy to celebrate?" Edward offered a glass to the doctor but he refused.

"I still have other patients to attend to but thank you very much." He tipped his hat and left the study.

Edward then made his way to the bedroom to find his wife sitting up in bed with a book in her lap. She saw him and smiled as he embraced her. The two shared a kiss and Edward sat down on the edge of the bed with his wife's hand in his.

"I'm so excited Edward," she said, fanning herself with her free hand. "My heart is racing."

"Now Henry will have a new sibling to play with in the near future."

"Edward, I never imagined being a mother to two children let alone one. It's exciting but a bit overwhelming at the same time."

There was a knock at the door; it was Henry's nanny with Master Henry in tow and Edward welcomed him in the bedroom.

"Good morning Papa," he said. "Is Mama all right?"

"Your mama is doing fantastic, my boy," he said, picking up Henry and sitting him on his knee. "In fact, we have something to tell you."

"You do? Tell me, tell me!" Henry said excitedly, clapping his hands.

"Well Henry," said Jane. "I'm going to have a baby."

"A baby?" Henry asked.

"Yes. You will have a new brother or sister."

Henry smiled. "Do you know if I will have a brother or sister?"

"Unfortunately no," said Edward. "But we will have another little one in our house in the next several months."

"Oh."

"When the baby does come," said Edward. "You will be the older brother. And I will trust that you will be a good boy and set an example for your younger sibling."

"I promise I will be a good boy, Papa," said Henry with an air of confidence. Unlike some children, Henry was an obedient child who did not require frequent discipline.

"Good." Edward kissed his son's forehead. "Do you have any questions at all?"

"Yes Papa. Do you know where babies come from?"

Edward's face cringed a bit while Jane clapped her hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. After a brief moment, Edward finally came up with an answer. "Well, if a mother and father want a child, they pray to God and if God feels that the time is right, He will give them a baby." He gave Jane a quick glance and she returned with a sly smile and a wink.

"But where is the baby?" asked Henry?

"The baby has to grow inside Mama's stomach," said Edward. He invited his son to lightly pat his mother's mid-section. He continued to answer Henry's questions about childbirth, making sure to answer in a manner that his young son would understand, deliberately sparing the more grotesque details. He eventually handed Henry over to his nanny to be dressed for the day and pulled out the newspaper article that he had been reading earlier. Apparently, there had been disappearances of various people during the night in Norway. The authorities had suspected a kidnapper or murderer of some kind but the town folk believe it was the work of trolls that lived in the snowy forests that would prey upon weary travelers and kidnap them for unspeakable reasons. Edward shared the article with Jane, feeling that this might call for their monster hunting expertise.

"But Edward, we only have experience in vampires and zombies, not trolls."

"Well, it's about time we expanded our expertise in such creatures," said Edward. "An old friend of mine, Torstein Bjornstad, lives in rural Oslo. I haven't heard from him a few months but he would be the one to know about these alleged troll abductions. I'll write him a letter asking if we can pay a visit."

* * *

><p>After receiving a letter from Mr. Bjornstad, the Rochesters packed up and headed to the snowy world of Norway, taking Edward's dog Pilot along the way in case they needed use of his acute sense of smell. Some two and twenty miles away from Oslo was a small village. In the small village was a modest, two-story house that was home to old Torstein Bjornstad, a widower and retired magistrate. His hair was completely white and he had a frail appearance despite his being strong and spry. He lived with his granddaughter, Ragnhilde, a blonde girl (whose parents died when she was an infant) of eighteen with high hopes of marrying local businessman Thorvald Magnussen, a handsome fellow of five and twenty. Unfortunately, the two lovers lived in opposite towns and in the middle of them was known as "troll territory" and traveling from one side to the next was treacherous at night so folks traveled by day and even still with caution.<p>

Upon arrival, the Rochesters were greeted by Mr. Bjornstad's maid and his unofficial hostess, his granddaughter Ragnhilde.

"We have been expecting you," Ragnhilde said in perfect English. "Come in, it's quite cold outside. We'll have your things taken to your room."

"Thank you very much, Ragnhilde," said Edward. "Is your grandfather here?"

"He'll be ready shortly. You must be hungry after your long trip. Dinner is almost ready."

While Pilot seated himself near the fireplace, Edward and Jane were seated next to each other at a modest dinner table with Ragnhild, Torstein, and a handful of servants. Torstein's hair was completely white, his skin wrinkled, and his eyesight was starting to wane but he was always in good spirits. As they were about to sit down, a familiar figure came in from the cold. He was tall with blonde hair and a fair complexion and immediately set his eyes on Ragnhilde.

"Thorvald!" she cried as she ran to embrace him. "You're just in time for dinner. Come, we have visitors from England."

"Welcome Thorvald," said Torstein. "Pleased to see you! How did you manage to get here without being abducted?"

"I'm staying with a friend here in town," Thorvald said in a booming, baritone voice. "I thought I would stop to say hello to my bride-to-be." He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "So I will not be traveling back home tonight."

"Isn't that sweet, Edward?" Jane whispered to her husband. "He traveled across town just for her."

"But he's still intact, meaning that he hasn't lost his eyesight or his limbs or his sanity," Edward whispered back.

"Well, I must introduce you to our guests, Thorvald," said Torstein. "This is Edward and Jane Rochester from England. I've been an old family friend for so long that I remember when Edward was first learning to speak.."

Edward blushed. "Why thank you Torstein. Must've been wonderful memories," he said with a smile.

"Hello Thorvald," said Jane. "Pleased to meet you."

Thorvald shook hands with the British guests and sat down to a hearty meal of chicken and fish. During the course of the meal, Torstein cleared his throat and made the mention of the alleged troll abductions. Apparently, several night travelers had been reported missing, the most recent being a lawyer on horseback on his way home. Both he and his horse had been allegedly taken in the night. After hearing about the "Creature Killers of Thornfield," Torstein felt it was necessary to have them come to solve the problem as authorities felt it was the work of a murderer rather than "folk monsters."

"So the authorities believe that this is the work of a criminal mastermind, do they not?" asked Edward.

"Yes," replied Torstein. "Despite the fact that there is no evidence to suggest that. There have been reports of troll sightings at night, especially in the deep woods."

"I've come across large footprints in the snow nearby," added Thorvald. "They couldn't possibly have been made by any average-sized man."

"And some claim they've seen devilish creatures prowling about the forest," said Ragnhilde. "Creatures with horns on their heads and tusks for teeth. They wear animal skins are terribly ugly!"

"I can't imagine any creature with horns and tusks to be terribly beautiful," mumbled Edward to Jane. Jane said nothing but slightly elbowed him in the side.

"And they have warts on their faces and they kidnap innocent people for food!" cried Ragnhilde. "And they..."

"Pardon the interruption," said Edward, pointing out his hand. "But have you seen any yourself personally, Ragnhilde?"

"No but I know people who have."

"Do these people live here in your area?"

"Yes. And the folks in the village across the way claim they have seen them."

"All right then. First thing tomorrow, we shall speak with the eyewitnesses to these alleged troll abductions and we shall go from there."

* * *

><p>That night, as Jane was crawling into bed, Edward stood out from the bedroom window with his spyglass, surveying the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. It was a typical practice that he had always done in cases of zombies, werewolves, vampires, and the like. On Edward's watch, he found nothing. No movement near the trees or the nearby forest. For the first time, Edward started to doubt the existence of such creatures. Maybe it was a murderer after all, he thought to himself. But then there were reports of huge footprints much larger than the average human. Some have even reported bones belonging to various animals near the woods. However, that could be the work of bears, not humans, Edward thought. He then put away his spyglass and went to bed, crawling beneath the layers of blankets and sheets.<p>

"Did you see anything, Edward?" asked Jane.

"No," replied Edward. "Nary a soul out there. I'm starting to even doubt that these creatures exist. Jane, this trip out to Norway may be all for naught."

"If it is, at least Torstein was nice enough to pay for our trip out here. It's very beautiful and I've never been here before."

"It is beautiful but the winter is frightfully cold up here. How are you feeling, my dear?" He put his arm around his wife and pulled her close to him.

"I'm feeling well actually. I wasn't too terribly hungry this evening, though."

"From the conversation this evening, I wonder what Thorvald sees in that flighty girl, Ragnhilde. I don't think she's grown up quite yet."

"I don't think anyone is truly grown up at that age, Edward."

"Well, I believe you were. In my opinion, you were more mature at eighteen than Blanche Ingram was at twenty five." He chuckled a bit.

"Mrs. Fairfax told me she finally got married not too long ago. I wish her the best of luck."

"I wish her husband the best of luck. She's married to a man whose wealth supercedes mine. By the end of the year, I predict they'll be destitute." Edward then kissed his wife's cheek. "Enough chatter for the evening. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Good night, my dear."

"Good night, Edward." The two of them kissed each other and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning right after breakfast, Edward, Jane, Pilot, and their hosts set out for the wintery fields where the abductions were alleged to have occurred. They combed up and down the entire area with Pilot's nose close to the snowy ground. After not finding anything, they visited the various villages and questioned their inhabitants (with their Norwegian hosts as interpreters) and all their stories matched; beast-like monsters abducting innocent people crossing the nearby snowy field in the evening and into the night. After an entire day of hearsay and no clues, the Creature Killers of Thornfield decided to retire for the evening. After dinner, Jane and Edward retired to their room to read. Just as they had dressed for the evening, Edward pulled out his spyglass and continued to look about the seemingly endless snowy area separating them from the next town over. This time, something caught his interest. In the snow appeared to be a piece of dark cloth. He motioned Jane to look.<p>

"I can barely see it, Edward."

"Adjust the spyglass, Dear," he said.

Jane did as instructed. "I see it. It appears to be a scarf or some sort. Someone must've tried to come here and was abducted."

"Do you know what this means, Jane?" cried Edward, grabbing his wife's arms. "We have a clue! Let's get dressed and head out."

The two of them changed out of their evening attire into their usual clothing and with Pilot in tow, made their way toward the object. It was indeed a scarf and they brought it inside. Ragnhilde greeted them inside the living room and immediately looked at the scarf.

"This scarf," she said. "I know who this belongs to." Her face started to turn white.

"Well, who?" asked Jane.

Ragnhilde's lips trembled. "T-t-thorvald," she muttered. "This is his scarf that I made for him not too long ago."

"Now what's going on?" asked Torstein, coming into the room.

"We found a clue, Torstein," said Edward. "Unfortunately, according to Ragnhilde, it's Thorvald's scarf. It appears he was trying to cross over and something must've taken him."

Ragnhilde sunk down in a nearby armchair and cried. Jane approached her and gave her comfort. "Let us trust in God that Thorvald is safe," she said to Ragnhilde. "We'll do our best to find him."

"Let's go Jane," said Edward. "We have no time to waste. We need to find Thorvald."

Jane gave Ragnhilde a hug and left Torstein to comfort his distressed granddaughter. Edward then gave the scarf to Pilot to see if he could pick up a scent. Pilot's nose sniffed the clothing item and then lead them outside and into the dark, snowy night. Pilot followed a scent trail to another article of clothing hidden in a bush; it was Thorvald's hat. Pilot pointed his nose toward the hat and wagged his tail.

"Good dog, Pilot." Edward patted his canine friend. "We'll make sure you get something good when we get home."

Just as Jane bent down to pick up Thorvald's hat off of the ground, she saw a pair of beady eyes staring back at her. Her free hand, while shaking, grabbed a pistol from her belt.

"Back away Jane," said Edward. "Back away."

Jane did as she was told, her pistol still pointed at the set of eyes staring back at her. The owner of the eyes then made its' appearance; a young beast-like humanoid appeared from the bushes, clothed in animal pelts. A set of fang-like teeth protruded from his mouth, his ears pointed like that of an elf, the tresses on his head were fiery red and one of his muscular hands gripped a huge wooden club. There was an intimidating anger in his eyes as he stared down the two people in front of him. Edward raised the end of his rifle toward the creature. In response, the creature grunted and knocked away Edward's rifle with his club, damaging it completely. This prompted Jane to fire her pistol but instead of the heart, she shot his knee by mistake. The humanoid howled in pain as the creature killing duo headed off into the woods, followed by a limping monster. While running through the woods, they came to a cave that appeared to have light and entered it, only to find a family of creatures similar to one that was following them.

"Jane, I think we have found the trolls," Edward said, gripping his wife's hand tightly."

"I think you're right," said Jane. 

* * *

><p>The troll that had been following them limped inside, blood pouring from his knee. He pointed to his wound and, in Norwegian, told his fellow trolls what happened. Before the creature killing duo could explain themselves, they were grabbed and dragged down to what seemed like an underground prison filled with several people. They were put in separate cells next to each other (some trolls may not be the brightest individuals), however Jane's pistol was confiscated and given to the guard who examined it and tucked it into his belt. Jane and Edward looked around and right next to Jane in a cell was Thorvald. He was sitting with his head down, his hands between his knees. After the guard fell asleep, Jane whispered to him.<p>

"Thorvald," she said quietly.

"What, oh, hello Jane," he whispered back. "How did you and Edward get here?"

"It's a long story," said Edward. "We need to find a way out of here. But wait a minute, what happened to Pilot?"

"The last time I saw him he was running back to Torstein's house when they took us," said Jane.

"That's the last time he's coming with us on trips like these," muttered Edward. "Anyway, let's find a way out of this place."

Luckily for Edward, his cell was located at the end. On the wall facing him was a piece of metal sticking out of it. Hanging from that piece of metal was the set of jail keys. Edward stuck his hand out and grabbed the necessary items. One by one, he unlocked every cell, freeing the trolls' prisoners. As they quietly made their way toward the exit, the guard started to awake from his slumber. Immediately, Edward took the guard's club and smacked it over the guard's head, knocking him out cold. From his belt, Jane took her pistol and aimed it around the area until she felt it was safe. Led by Thorvald, the group of prisoners made their way up the steps to an opening only to be greeted by another troll; this time, it was a troll-child, about Master Henry's age. He put his finger to his lips as if to keep the escapees from making noise. He then motioned them to follow him as all the other trolls were sound asleep. He led them outside the cave and back into the woods. Meeting them nearby was Torstein with Pilot at his side.

"You found everyone," he said, his gaze pointed toward Edward and Jane. "Good work!"

"Well, we wouldn't have been able to escape without the help of that little fellow," said Edward, pointing toward the troll-child.

"A troll, _helping_ someone?"

"He led us out of the prison that was underneath that cave over there," said Jane pointing in the direction they just came from."

"They kept prisoners?" cried Torstein.

"Yes, they did," said a man in heavily accented English. "They even took my injured horse!"

"Sven!" Torstein yelled at the man in Norwegian. "Worry about yourself, not your horse!"

Just then, everyone felt a rumbling beneath their feet. A horde of armed trolls were headed their way, led by a very sore prison guard and an even sorer troll leaning on a wooden crutch, his knee wrapped in cloth. As they grew nearer, the troll-child stepped in between, sending his fellow trolls to a stop. The guard then yelled at the troll-child to move aside but the little fellow refused to budge. A young female troll appeared out of the crowd and stood next to him. Edward figured out that the two of them were mother and son.

The female troll then spoke to her kin, pleading with them to stop the animosity between them and their human neighbors, citing that the farmer that accidentally killed one of their sheep was no reason for them to kidnap out of retribution. Torstein provided translation of the woman's speech to his English friends.

"This was all over a sheep?" asked a puzzled Edward to Torstein.

"Apparently so," he replied.

As the female troll continued to speak, all her fellow creatures hung their heads in shame, some even dropping their weapons. She then turned to the group of humans and apologized for the trolls' behavior. She even ordered one of them to bring Sven's horse, his injured leg in a sling device.

"They kept my horse!" cried Sven.

Torstein then told the troll-woman that her apology was accepted and that they promised to leave them alone in the future. One of the captors then spoke up, admitting that he was the farmer who accidentally killed one of the trolls' sheep, offering to replace it with another one along with an apology. The troll woman forgave him but turned down the offer, thanking him anyway.

When all was said and done, Torstein, Jane, Edward, Thorvald, and Pilot headed back to Torstein's warm cottage-like home. Morning was just starting to break and once they entered the house, Thorvald was nearly knocked over by Ragnhilde who threw her arms around him and planted a huge kiss on his lips. In return, Thorvald briefly picked her up off of her feet and returned the kiss.

"Looks like everything is back the way it should be," said Torstein. 

* * *

><p>A week later, Jane and Edward were invited to Thorvald and Ragnhilde's wedding. It was a modest ceremony inside a small Lutheran church. Despite not knowing Norwegian, Jane and Edward perfectly understood what transpired during the ceremony. While most of the church were filled with human beings, there were trolls among those in attendance, most notably the little troll-boy who helped save the two beings from killing each other over a petty dispute (he had also served as a ring bearer).<p>

When the Rochesters came home, they felt good to be in their own home. Master Henry Rochester was excited to know about what trolls were, what they looked like, and what they ate. Edward told his son that they were different from humans but no different in their behavior or eating habits as they ate the same food that humans do and that they did not eat humans themselves. Jane, meanwhile, had set aside Henry's former nursery as the baby's room. A week or so later, the Rochesters received a parcel in the mail, addressed from Thorvald and Ragnhilde Magnussen. It was a letter of thanks and a knitted blanket for Jane and Edward's new baby. Jane marveled at the gift while sitting on a sofa near the fireplace in the living-room sitting next to her husband.

"God bless their hearts, Edward," she said, holding up the blanket. "This will go well with the baby's bed."

"To think that whole episode was a misconception; both human and troll realized that neither one was evil and decided to live side by side in harmony," Edward said. "To think, we never took the life of those creatures although we have come close to doing so. Thank God it never came to that." He smiled and picked up a glass of wine, sipped from it, and put it down. "I think we could learn a thing or two from these individuals."

"Of course, Edward. If it weren't for that little boy and his mother, the outcome would've been entirely different. Hopefully this will be a good teaching lesson for Henry someday," said Jane folding up the blanket. "He must know that being in the creature killing business isn't all about indiscriminately killing alleged monsters and asking questions later on."

While the two chatted, Henry and his nanny appeared in the living-room. Apparently the littlest Rochester could not sleep and asked to stay with his parents for a while. His parents nodded in agreement and let him climb up on the sofa between them. Jane then put down the blanket and draped her arm around her son.

"I can't sleep," he said. "I'm scared."

"What are you scared of, darling?" asked Jane.

"I'm scared that I won't be a good brother when the baby comes."

Edward chuckled and patted his son's head. "I trust you will, Henry. It's absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure, Papa?"

"Of course." He kissed his son's cheek. "I think you will make a wonderful brother. You've always been a good boy for me and Mama and we both love you very, very much."

"Thank you Papa. I think I shall try to sleep again." He gave both his parents a kiss good night.

"I'll take him to bed," said Edward to Jane. "All right son, let's go." He picked up Master Henry, placed him on his shoulders and walked upstairs to Henry's room. He came back downstairs and rejoined his wife on the sofa.

"We'll teach him about monster killing later; for now, it's about new baby siblings coming into the world," said Jane, putting her hand on Edward's.

"When it comes to bringing children into the world," said Edward. "I think that discussion is also best left for 'later.'"

THE END


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Shape-Shifting Vampire

NOTE: I don't own the rights to _Jane Eyre_. This is out of love for the novel.

The evening was crisp and cool as Jane and Edward took a carriage into town to see _The Marriage of Figaro_ at the local opera. Since family life was a bit hectic, Edward obtained a pair of tickets and offered his wife a nice romantic night alone to break away from the monotony of everyday life. Dressed in their finest, especially with Edward in a white cravat, white vest, and black frock coat, with one of his black-gloved hands holding one of Jane's white-gloved ones while his other hand gripped the handle of his cane. Jane was attired in a similar formal fashion with a bonnet, coat, and a dress along with an expensive pearl necklace that Edward had bought her for the occasion. The two of them had been looking forward to this night for a few weeks. Despite her expectant condition, Jane decided to go to the opera because she hadn't seen one since Henry had been born. Edward then let go of Jane's hand and draped his arm around her shoulders with a smile on his face.

"Just the two of us," he sighed happily, allowing himself to relax a little in his seat.

"Well deserved too," remarked Jane who planted a kiss on Edward's cheek.

"Nothing but the best for my little elf." He turned around and kissed her. "Sometimes one needs to leave the confines of responsibility for a little bit of pleasure. By the way, how are you feeling my dear?" Every once in awhile, Edward felt compelled to ask his wife about her condition, considering that she was with child.

"I'm feeling rather fine," said Jane. "But I still feel fat." She looked down at her slightly protruding mid-section.

"Don't be, Jane. I could care less if you were; you will always be beautiful to me, regardless of size." He turned around and kissed her again, this time, making her blush. Edward smiled in response. "I love it when your cheeks flush," he chuckled.

"And I'll still love you, too, no matter what," said Jane, putting her head on his shoulder.

"It doesn't get any wonderful than this, Jane. A night at the opera with just the two of us. Henry is with his nanny and since Adele is home from school, she has offered to entertain him while we're away for the evening."

Both husband and wife continued to share sweet-nothings during the carriage ride to the opera. Upon arrival, both Jane and Edward made their way to their seats along with the others in attendance. As the attendees were finding their seats, deep in the back of the building, a squirrel managed to get in. It made its way toward the dressing-rooms of the performers and stopped at a specific room in particular. Here, the squirrel transformed into a vampire, his skin completely pale, his fangs a pale white. The individual in question was impeccably dressed though not well enough to attend an opera. He knocked at the door of the dressing-room, which was answered by the soprano playing the part of Susanna. She stared at the individual and gasped, "Arthur!"

"You have hurt me deeply, Frances," said Arthur.

"I'm terribly sorry, but, but..." Frances muttered. "I cannot give up what I love; the love of music and song."

"I shall give you one final chance to change your mind. Give up this folly of yours and be my wife."

Frances' eyes welled up with tears. "I cannot...give up what I love. I am sorry Arthur. What you want me to do is not out of love but out of selfishness on your part; also my parents would never allow me to marry a vampire. This is why I have never mentioned your name to them."

"Very well then," said Arthur. "You leave me no choice." He grabbed a hold of poor Frances, who immediately started screaming and struggling. Arthur then pulled away her hair, exposing her neck and promptly bit her and then leaving her dead body in the dressing room. He quickly transformed back into a squirrel and scampered back the way he came. Just a few seconds later, one of the stage hands found the body and quickly alerted the musical director.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Jane and Edward were sitting in one of the box seats; Jane cooling herself with her fan while Edward peered down the levels of seats, his eyes fixed on the stage.<p>

"I wonder what's taking so long for the opera to start," muttered Edward. "I paid a good deal of money for us to see Frances Allred sing the part of Susanna."

"Maybe one of the performers became ill," said Jane.

"Perhaps. I believe they do have understudies for this sort of occasion."

"How did you hear about Frances Allred?"

"She studied under Celine Varens. But you have nothing to worry about, my dear." He patted her hand and then held it with his own. "I have no interest in this young woman other than to hear her sing."

As Jane managed a smile at her husband, a shout came from below. The music director had called the attention of the audience.

"I apologize for the delay but this performance will be cancelled this evening..." Gasps flooded the opera house followed by some audience members putting their hands to their faces in frustration.

"...due to an unforseen death," continued the music director. "...of one Frances Allred."

"The devil?!" muttered Edward angrily. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape with shock. "How can that possibly be?"

The director continued, "Miss Allred was seen dead in her dressing room with fang marks on her neck." A wave of gasps came from the audience and some women even swooned at the mere thought.

"A vampire!" Edward exclaimed. "But how can a vampire get inside without being detected?"

"Your guess is good as mine, dear," said Jane. "Should we see if we can be of assistance?"

"As much as I hate having my time with you interrupted, I believe that in the best interests of the young woman's family, we must do our duty as creature killers." The two absconded from their box seats with Jane being led by the hand by Edward. They quickly made their way up front, through confused opera guests and the orchestra pit and to the musical director.

"Hello sir," said Jane, dropping a curtsey. "We've come to help."

The musical director took one look at the two of them and recognized them immediately. "Ah, I've heard of you. The Creature Killers of Thornfield, Sir Edward and Lady Rochester. My name is Mr. Stephen Stanley. I had the unfortunate task of discovering Miss Allred in her dressing room, apparently deceased by a vampire bite."

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Stanley," said Jane as they both shook his hand. "We'll definitely see to it that we find this woman's killer and make sure that he is brought to justice."

"Lead justice, more or less," whispered Edward to Jane.

"Wooden stake or silver bullet justice is more like it," Jane whispered back.

The Creature Killers of Thornfield then gave the local undertaker strict instructions on how to keep Miss Allred's body deceased in the case she should come back to life as a vampire herself, telling him to use a wooden stake to the heart to insure that the victim was properly dead. Then the two ventured outside a back door into the vast darkness of night with only a lantern held by Edward as the sole source of light. He waved it around a nearby tree and nearly stumbled on a small squirrel.

"Move along, you puny beast," he muttered to the squirrel. The squirrel did as told and scampered off into some nearby bushes. While Jane and Edward stumbled about in the darkness, looking for any clues or signs of vampire life, the squirrel peered through the leaves of the bush, his gaze fixated on the creature killers, especially Jane.

* * *

><p>The Creature Killers of Thornfield could not find any trace of vampire or otherwise so they left the opera in a state of shock and confusion. After Edward lamented that yet another romantic activity between him and Jane was interrupted (and after Jane sternly reminded him that a senseless murder was more important than a romantic evening together), the two of them discussed how the alleged vampire got in and out without notice, which proved to be fruitless since they couldn't come up with an explanation other than someone coming in silently and stabbing poor Frances in the neck with a prong-like tool that could possibly resemble a vampire bite (even that didn't explain how pale she looked after losing a great deal of blood). They also commented on the fact that they didn't know if the young singer had any enemies or those who wished to do her harm. After much discussion and thought, the two of them decided to wait until morning to further talk about the case.<p>

The next morning, they headed out to the local police headquarters, hoping that there would be contacts for them to further learn about this young woman. As their carriage made their way down the road, the same squirrel that Edward had nearly tripped over the night before, crawled onto a branch of a nearby tree, his eyes fixated on them, even more so on Jane. He then scurried down the trunk of the tree and into some nearby bushes. As they approached the police station, he then dashed into more bushes and into a small hole in a building, unknown to Jane and Edward. Upon their arrival to the station, the creature killers found the distraught parents of Frances Allred along with her older twin siblings, her brother Frank and her sister Rebecca, their eyes red with tears and weeping. Mr. and Mrs. Allred were both five and forty years of age with their twins being three and twenty and Frances being nineteen. Her family was all dressed in black, indicating a period of mourning.

"I can't understand who would murder such an innocent girl," muttered Mrs. Allred. "My Franny has never wished ill will toward anyone. She will never sing again!" She sobbed into a handkerchief and blew her nose so loudly that it sounded like a horn, which Edward found to be mildly entertaining and had to bite his lips to keep from chuckling.

"She was allegedly killed by a vampire, my dear," Mr. Allred said. "Those creatures are horrible beings!" He put his arm around his wife who continued to sob uncontrollably on his shoulder.

"Franny was such a nice girl," said her sister Rebecca, wiping away her tears. "She never said a horrible thing about anyone. Her dream was to sing at the Royal Opera House and now she never will!" She sniffed and continued to wipe her eyes.

"If I find out who killed my sister, I will find out where he lives and make absolutely sure he doesn't kill anyone again!" said her brother Frank.

"At least we know it wasn't them who killed her," Edward whispered to Jane. "They look entirely too distraught."

After the family members regained their composure, Jane and Edward questioned them about Frances Allred. They asked if they had seen her in her dressing room before the opera and they all replied "no" since they were all sitting in the box seats at the time of the murder. After further questioning, Jane and Edward found that Frances came off as an agreeable, friendly person who wouldn't even harm a small insect. They said that Frances had told them briefly about a friend of hers named Arthur Gibbon but never brought up his name again. Jane and Edward thought it would be best to find Mr. Gibbon and inform him of his friend's untimely death and ask him if he knew anyone who might wish to cause her harm. While the two creature killers were questioning, the squirrel managed to climb up the small brick wall and peer into the window of the police station, listening rather intently. He then fled quickly as the door to the station opened and Jane and Edward were set out to Arthur Gibbon's home.

"This is one thing I don't particularly enjoy doing," said Edward on their way to Mr. Gibbon's residence.

"Of course not," Jane said. "How would anyone find joy in telling someone that their friend or loved one has been murdered?"

"I know, it's just that I feel that this responsibility lies on the part of the authorities, however, now that we're more well-known, they simply hand over creature-murder cases to us."

"That's because we know more about these creatures than they do."

"That's true Jane. Besides, they pay better than the average farmer with a zombie locked in his barn."

They arrived at Arthur Gibbons' home; it was a modest residence but still had the grandeur of Thornfield. They knocked on the door and one of his servants answered, telling them that he was not home and had left for town on important business, presumably to deal with the death of his friend Frances Allred. They asked the servant about the relationship between the two, however, he refused to comment. Edward then grabbed the servant by his collar and thrust him into a nearby wall, all while Jane yelling at him to stop, and repeated the question through gritted teeth. The now-frightened servant revealed that Arthur and Frances were lovers at one point but Frances had broken off their romance to pursue her career as an opera singer and had the two of them married, Frances would no longer be allowed to perform. Edward had heard enough and let him go.

"Please don't tell anyone where you received this information," said the servant in a scared tone of voice, massaging his neck where Edward had grabbed him. "My master would have my head for it!"

"Rest assured, this conversation never happened, sir," said Jane. "My apologies for my husband's behavior."

"Apologies accepted." Jane shook the man's hand as she and Edward headed for their carriage ride home, hopefully to figure out who or what murdered Frances Allred and find an explanation for Arthur's suspicious behavior. As they got in, Edward offered to put his arm around her but she refused.

"How dare you do that to him!" she scolded Edward. "I thought we had this conversation before that you would never lay as much as a FINGER on people that we talk to!"

"I couldn't help it, Jane," said Edward, his head now facing downward. "I was frustrated at the lack of his cooperation. After all, he could've been the one to kill Frances."

"Him? A servant? Why, Edward, WHY would a servant, of all people, want to kill his employer's former lover?" She shook her head in disgust.

* * *

><p>Edward muttered a guilty apology and sighed and put his hands in his lap. He didn't bother to speak to his wife who was still seething over his methods of questioning. They said nothing to each other on the carriage ride home. On the back of the carriage holding on for dear life was the squirrel. As soon as the carriage stopped, the squirrel got off and watched as the creature killers entered their home with Mrs. Fairfax asking how it went and getting a mouthful of frustration from Jane at what Edward did to Mr. Gibbons' servant. Meanwhile, Edward shouted at Jane to drop the subject and leave him be. In anger, Jane retreated to her drawing room to calm down. The squirrel climbed onto the window to get a better look at their home. And then he waited. And waited. And waited. And finally, when supper time came around, Edward told Mrs. Fairfax to inform his wife that dinner was about to be served. Then, Mrs. Fairfax replied that Jane would come to dinner when her appetite suited it. Edward rolled his eyes and entered the dining room. The squirrel then entered the home through a slightly open window and snuck his way around the furniture until he came to the drawing room, which to his delight, was slightly ajar. He snuck inside to find Jane in prayer, talking to God about her husband and herself and praying to let her anger subside. The squirrel then made his appearance.<p>

"My goodness!" exclaimed Jane. "How did you get in here? Let me find a way to let you out." She picked him up gingerly by the scruff of his neck and then he made his transformation from squirrel to vampire. He then shut the door to the drawing room.

"What? Who are you?" Jane asked.

"Mrs. Jane Rochester," he said. "May I introduce myself as Arthur Gibbon?"

"Arthur Gibbon? How do you know who I am or where I reside?"

"Pure observation, my dear. I saw you and your temperamental husband looking around for Frances Allred's murderer."

"How did you turn into a squirrel?"

"Simple. I was bitten by a squirrel on a picnic who had previously been bitten by a vampire. It's quite an interesting life so far. You get to see things that you normally wouldn't as a human." He smiled at her and licked his fangs. "On a different subject entirely, your dear husband was not so dear to my servant." He moved in closer to her as she backed up into her chair. "I do not appreciate those who mistreat the people who are in my employ."

"That was the first time I've ever seen him do such a thing!" exclaimed Jane. "He was feeling frustrated at the time. If this is the reason for your visit, he would be more than happy to apologize!"

Arthur stood back and smiled again. "I accept your gracious apologies. However, this is not the reason for my visit." He grabbed Jane and pulled her toward him as she struggled to be free. "I can't have you and your husband following me."

"Do you have something to hide, Arthur?" Jane asked through gritted teeth as she tried to break free of his grasp.

"Of course, my dear." He pulled her even closer and whispered, "I killed Frances."

"You vile creature! How could you?"

"I had to, my dear. She would not accept me as a husband and refuses to give up this opera-singing career. It's very low brow, in my opinion. But now that she's gone, I have you."

"You better not! I'm a happily married woman!"

"Funny, you didn't sound so happily married a while ago when you argued with your husband over his mistreatment of my employee."

"It was a disagreement! Husbands and wives have them all the time! Now let me go!"

"I would be happy to let you go. On the condition that you leave your husband and join me."

"Never!"

"Very well then." He turned her around and, despite Jane's struggling, pulled her close to him and moved the hair covering her neck. He licked his fangs and opened his mouth. Just as he was about to bite Jane's neck, Arthur felt something on the back of his own neck, which made a clicking sound.

"Don't you dare," Edward's booming voice permeated Arthur's ears as he pressed his pistol to the back of the vampire's neck. "I heard everything you just told my wife. Unhand her this instant!" he snapped through gritted teeth.

Arthur turned around to face an extremely angry Edward, his pistol still pointed in his direction. "So you're the one who pinned my servant against the wall to extract information?" He dropped Jane to the ground and faced Edward. "How do you think that makes him feel?"

"A lot better than you are now, Arthur Gibbon!" Edward's gaze and gun were still fixed onto Arthur's. "How dare you murder an innocent girl and then have the gall to seduce my wife in my house of all places!"

"What kind of person do you think you are, assaulting innocent people and..." There was a gunshot and Arthur, grabbing his mid-section, fell forward. Jane had a hidden gun in the desk in her drawing room and promptly shot the vampire in the back. She dropped the gun and ran to her husband, throwing her arms around his neck. In return, Edward wrapped his arms around Jane, stroking her back.

"I'm so sorry," said Jane, still shaking from fear.

"No need to be," Edward said. "You did nothing wrong; I shouldn't have done what I did to that man's servant. However, considering that he killed Miss Allred, I think that's the least of my worries."

"Thank you, Edward for saving me. I love you so much." She kissed him and he returned her affections.

"I will always love you, my little elf," he said to her. "Now we must dispose of the vampire before we have supper." He and Jane enlisted one of stable men as they carried Arthur's body to the basement while Mrs. Fairfax sent another one to alert the authorities. When they did arrive, Jane and Edward explained everything; the relationship between Frances and Arthur and how it fell apart and how Frances could only refer to him as a friend to her family and not her lover. After Arthur's body was properly disposed of (making sure he did not come back from the dead to kill others), Jane and Edward elected to eat their late dinner near their fireplace, sitting side by side on the sofa. After they finished, Jane curled next to Edward, her head on his shoulder and her arm around his. Edward responded by placing his hand on her knee.

"I let the servants know to leave us alone for the moment," Edward said. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm feeling fine, thank you for asking, Edward," Jane replied. "Ooh, I feel something." She put a hand to her stomach.

"What is it?" asked Edward.

Jane took her husband's hand and placed it on her mid-section. "Feel it?"

"The baby just kicked," said Edward.

"Sometimes it keeps me up at night."

"I remember you used to tell me that when you were pregnant with Henry. Being a man, I'll never know how that feels." The two of them chuckled and Edward kissed her cheek. "Oh Jane," he sighed. "I love you and I always will. Don't you ever forget that, my little elf." He lifted her chin with his finger and kissed her. Then he pulled her close to him, his arm wrapped firmly around his wife.

"I love you too, Edward. I love you and I always will." She turned around and kissed him back. Edward then turned to face her with a smile on his face.

"Oh speak again, bright angel," he said. "For thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of Heaven."*

Jane feigned shock with a smile on her face, giggled and said, "What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in the night so stumblest upon my counsel?"*

The two embraced and kissed with such passion and force that they fell off of the sofa, knocking over a small table and a vase that broke immediately upon impact. Edward immediately let go of his wife and helped her to her feet.

"Are you all right, darling?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Edward. No harm done but I can't say the same for the vase on that table."

"Don't worry, Jane. I never liked it to begin with. Besides, I'm more impressed with you knowing Shakespeare."

"Oh, I love _Romeo and Juliet_! It's such a fantastic play," said Jane.

"Fantastic until the end, I suppose. I'll have Mrs. Fairfax come in and clean up this mess. Let's go to bed, shall we? It's getting late." They held hands and went upstairs to bed.

With the reward money for the capture and death of Arthur Gibbon, Jane and Edward helped to pay for the funeral expenses for the Allreds. While Mr. Gibbon's servants sought work elsewhere, Edward offered employment to Mr. Roger Stephens, the servant he accosted earlier (with twice the pay). Mr. Stephens eagerly accepted the offer as well as Edward's apology since Thornfield was closer to the home of his daughter and son-in-law (this allowed him to see his grandchildren more often).

THE END

*Excerpts from _Romeo and Juliet_, Act 2, Scene II by William Shakespeare.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Horror in the Basement

NOTE: I don't own _Jane Eyre_. This is out of love for the novel.

Jane awoke one morning feeling lethargic due to lack of sleep; she had just fallen asleep a mere three hours prior and managed to carry herself, six months' pregnant stomach and all, to the breakfast table where her husband, Edward, and son Henry were waiting for her. Jane desperately wanted to crawl back into her nightgown and into the comforts of her bed but there was work to be done. A couple of clients have complained of zombie sightings near their homes and it was up to her and Edward to take care of the problem.

"Good morning, Darling," said Edward as he rose from the table to greet his wife with a kiss.

"Good morning, my love." Jane returned his affections with a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning Mama," said Henry who embraced her expectant mid-section carefully. "How are you today?"

"I'm very tired. I had hardly a wink of sleep last night." She hugged her son, kissed his forehead, and sat down at the table. "Tea please, Mrs. Fairfax," she said to their ever faithful housekeeper, who in turn, brought her some.

"My dear, you look quite lethargic," said Edward, sipping his coffee and noticing that his wife was rubbing her tired eyes.

"What does that mean?" asked Henry.

"Son, 'lethargic' means to be very tired or sleepy. And in your mother's case, it appears that she can barely keep her eyes open." Edward then turned to Jane. "Dear, I think that you should stay home today. The workload today is light and I can make the rounds myself; I feel that your health would benefit from some extra sleep, especially in your fragile condition. You spent the majority of the previous evening tossing and turning."

"Thank you Edward," Jane said, much relieved. "Later on today, I might go for a walk with Henry. Henry's face beamed with delight.

"Can I still play with my friends today, Mama?" Henry asked. It was previously arranged for a servant's grandchildren to come to visit Master Henry that day.

"Of course, Henry. They can come walk with us."

Henry squealed in delight, clapping his hands. His nanny, Miss Rebecca Walsh, then came over to fetch him and get him bathed and clean for the day. In the meantime, Jane and Edward finished eating and the latter gave his wife a kiss before he left to his daily rounds. Jane then trudged upstairs to their bedroom for a much-needed nap. Upon falling asleep, Jane started to dream.

_She found herself inside a basement, dark, dank, and frightening. Holding a lamp, she continued through what seemed like a maze; there were twists and turns and dead ends. She was in pursuit of someone or something that emitted high pitched screams. Despite being horrified, Jane pressed on to find the source of the highly audible cries by following the sounds, hoping that the louder they got, the closer she was. After what seemed like an eternity, she came upon something similar to a jail cell. In it was a young girl, about twenty years old, with pale skin, pure white hair, and black eyes, screeching at the top of her lungs, one hand gripping one of the iron bars and the other reaching out between them. Jane dropped the lantern and ran only to run head on into the screaming creature. "What are you doing here?" it hissed as it grabbed Jane by the face. It lowered its mouth closer to Jane's neck as she struggled to break free._

Jane immediately rose from her nap and looked around her. She was still in the safety of the bedchamber. She shook her head and rose to open the bedroom door to find Mrs. Fairfax standing in front of it, startling her.

"Jane, how was your nap?" she asked.

"I feel better now that I had one but I just had the strangest nightmare."

"The children are downstairs ready for a lovely afternoon stroll. I thought I'd come up here to see if you were still sleeping."

"Not anymore, Mrs. Fairfax. Tell the children and Henry's nanny that I will be ready in a few minutes."

* * *

><p>Jane, Mrs. Fairfax, Henry, Miss Walsh (his nanny), and Henry's friends, twin siblings Martin and Matilda, who were the grandchildren of one of Edward's servants went out for a walk, bringing lunch with them. The three women would talk amongst themselves while keeping a sharp eye on the children, making sure they stayed away from the pond and didn't run off by themselves. They then walked back toward the house and sat under the old chestnut tree that had sprouted new leaves after being struck by lightning many years ago and lunched. They talked about Jane's dream and while it was frightening, they concluded that it didn't amount to anything. As they came back to the house, Edward had arrived back home from his rounds. One of his servants arrived to collect his grandchildren and take them home. Miss Walsh took Master Henry to give him his bath and get him ready for supper. Edward appeared to have a sour disposition as he grumbled under his breath while hanging his hat and frock coat. Jane happily approached her grumpy husband with an embrace, hoping to ease his mind.<p>

"How was your day, my love?" she asked.

"Horrible. How was yours? Do you feel better?"

"Much better, but why was your day horrible?" She put her arm around her husband's waist and walked him to the parlor where they sat down on the sofa and had some tea.

"Jane my dear, be absolutely thankful you stayed home instead of working with me today,"said Edward in a grave tone of voice. "All the zombie calls today were quite effortless except for the last call of the day." He cleared his throat. "My last call of the day was from a woman, Mrs. Piper. Apparently, she and her husband spotted a zombie in their barn so they had locked it to keep it in; at least their animals were outside grazing instead of being feasted upon by the un-dead. Anyway, instead of keeping it trapped and waiting for me to arrive, Mr. Piper took it upon himself to remedy the situation." He paused and took a sip of tea.

"How can anyone be so stupid?" exclaimed Jane, putting her hand to her face. "Zombies are brainless but they are deadly creatures! Why would anyone untrained in creature killing take upon such a task?"

"My sentiments exactly, my dear. Well, he unlocked the barn doors and tried to shoot the zombie with his rifle but he missed with the only bullet in the chamber. While swinging wildly at the creature at a poor attempt to knock it senseless, the zombie bit him in the neck and turned Mr. Piper into a member of the un-dead community. I had no choice but to shoot both of them."

"What about his wife?"

"His wife is now a widow with three children and one on the way," replied Edward. "Thankfully, she has connections with relatives in Liverpool and will be selling the home and moving there shortly. According to her, her husband wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and her parents were hesitant to let her marry him. And now I can see why." He took his last sip of tea and then poured himself a glass of claret. "Jane, when you are ill, do you not call upon a physician to attend to your needs?"

"Of course I do, Edward. I wouldn't have known about being with child if I didn't."

"This is why folks should leave the creature killing to us," Edward sighed as he took a sip of claret. "So how was your nap?"

Jane felt compelled to tell Edward about her dream but felt that his experience was far more worse than a silly nightmare. "It was fine. I woke up feeling energetic and took Henry and his friends, Miss Walsh, and Mrs. Fairfax on a walk and we had lunch underneath the old chestnut tree."

"Splendid," said Edward. "Glad to know you're feeling better." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go get cleaned up. I'll meet you in the dining room for supper." He got up and left the room. The more Jane thought about it, the less she thought about the bad dream and brushed it off as a mere reverie that happened to be frighteningly realistic.

* * *

><p>That night, Jane lay in bed while Edward was pleasantly snoring next to her. She took one look at the ceiling and then turned onto her side and fell into a deep sleep.<p>

_She came down to a set of stairs leading to a basement. From that point, she heard an ear-piercing shriek coming from somewhere nearby. With a lantern in hand, Jane walked toward the sound of the shrieking voice. As she crept closer to the source of the sound through a maze of passageways, she felt someone walk up behind her, grab her shoulders, knocking the lantern out of her hand. "What are you doing here!" it hissed loudly. "Leave me be!" The creature then pulled Jane close and was about to bite the back of her neck._

Jane awoke, breathing heavily and in a cold sweat. She caught her breath and by her waking up, she accidentally aroused her husband from his sleep.

"Huh, what's going on?" mumbled Edward, rubbing his eyes.

"Edward, I just had a nightmare," Jane said. "I had a dream that a creature was trying to get me. It was awful, Edward. It had this horrible scream like it was dying or in trouble or something like that."

Edward rubbed his wife's shoulders. "It's just a dream, my little fairy." He kissed her cheek. "Let's go back to sleep, shall we?" He pulled her close to him with her head on his chest and the two of them fell asleep with no more nightmares.

The next morning, both Jane and Edward woke up feeling refreshed and energetic. The two got dressed and made their way to the breakfast table with a letter waiting for them. While eating, Edward opened the letter and read its contents.

"What does it say, Edward?" asked Jane.

"Apparently, an expatriated Scotsman by the name of Angus MacFadden has some sort of demon-like creature running rampant in his basement. He's planning to get married sometime soon and, apparently, would like us to dispose of the demon before he unites in holy matrimony."

Jane nearly spit out her tea. The previous nightmares she had matched the situation almost perfectly. Still, she did not bring up the subject with her husband for fear of exacerbating the problem. "That sounds horrible!" exclaimed Jane.

"Well, I would think so. Demons aren't particularly pleasant beings to deal with. We must finish our meal and head on over to Mr. MacFadden's estate. It's not too far from here."

Jane nodded in agreement and continued to eat her breakfast while wondering about the creature in question. Could it possibly resemble the ghost-like demon that haunted her dreams? Or could it be just another zombie stuck in someone's basement just like most of their clientele? Before they left, Jane made sure to take along a copy of _Nasty Creatures and their Habits_, given to her by Edward for their third anniversary. As they rode the carriage up to Mr. MacFadden's estate, Jane poured over the book, looking for any signs of what the creature might be, relying on only the lucid hallucinations of her nightmares. Sitting next to her, Edward peered over to his side to see his wife reading.

"My dear, that's an excellent book," he said. "Did you know that there are several types of vampires and not just one?"

Looking up from her book, Jane replied, "I did not know that."

"It's a useful book, Jane. I'm glad you brought it along because I haven't the faintest idea of what kind of undesirable being is inhabiting Mr. MacFadden's basement."

"That's what I'm trying to find out," said Jane. "Mr. MacFadden's description of this thing is incredibly vague."

* * *

><p>Jane continued to read the book searching for answers when the coachman eventually pulled up to Mr. MacFadden's estate. After getting out of the carriage, Jane's eyes and mouth widened in awe; the home was more of a palace than a mansion. It was much bigger than Thornfield. With her book about nasty creatures tucked into her arm, Jane followed Edward inside, led by a servant. Inside the home were two massive staircases that led directly into the main room. A young man of one and thirty appeared, his auburn red hair combed back, impeccably dressed and with all the signs of significant wealth, much like the Rochesters, but with a little more money.<p>

"Hello and welcome to my humble home," said the young man with a slight Scottish brogue. "I am Angus MacFadden; how do you do?"

"Edward Rochester, pleased to meet you." The two men shook hands.

"Jane Rochester, pleased to meet you." Jane dropped a curtsey.

"Mrs. Rochester, I see that you are expecting."

"I am about six months along. This is our second child," she said with a smile.

"Wonderful. I send my congratulations to you and your family. Well, enough with the formalities, come into my office where we can talk about this matter." He led them up one of the two giant staircases into a small room on the left hand side. There was nothing humble about this home, Jane thought. It had all the makings of Versailles or even the Royal Palace in London. Huge paintings adorned the walls along with Chinese vases on almost every table, even in Mr. MacFadden's office where they were instructed to sit down.

"Welcome again to my humble abode," Mr. MacFadden said with a smile. "Coffee or tea, anyone?"

"Tea please," said Edward.

"Me too. Tea please," said Jane.

"Very well, tea for all of us." Mr. MacFadden instructed his housekeeper to bring libations for his guests.

"This is a wonderful home, Mr. MacFadden," said Jane.

"It is, isn't it?" he said. "I inherited it from my late father who passed away from consumption ten years ago. He made his living in the sugar and tobacco industries. My grandfather gave him the bulk of his riches when he died."

"What is your occupation, if I may inquire?" asked Edward.

"I have inherited my father's businesses," replied Mr. MacFadden. "Although I do have enough money to retire from working completely. It's just that I need something to keep me busy." He chuckled a little bit. "I also have an equally rich cousin on my mother's side of the family; Mr. Hamish MacLellan. I believe that Mr. MacLellan has married a former acquaintance of yours, Mr. Rochester."

"Blanche Ingram?" said Edward, surprised.

"Exactly. That's how I found out about the both of you."

"And how are Mr. and Mrs. MacLellan doing?" asked Jane.

"They seem to be doing well. From what I hear, Mrs. MacLellan is also expecting," he said, glancing at Jane.

"I also imagined you might be wearing a kilt, somehow," said Jane with a childish smile.

Mr. MacFadden laughed. "You humor me, Mrs. Rochester. Well, no. I've worn one before but it feels quite strange as opposed to wearing trousers, which I wear all the time."

"Let's get down to business, Mr. MacFadden," said Edward. "Can you tell me a little bit about this thing in your basement?"

"Yes, I can. I've seen this creature and so have my servants and housekeepers. I can't afford to have this thing in my home when I am expected to be married in the next couple of weeks."

"That's understandable," said Edward, who could empathize with the young man's plight, considering that he had a similar situation when Jane first came to Thornfield.

"Who is your lovely bride-to-be, Mr. MacFadden?"asked Jane.

"Her name is Ruth Haversham. I met her and her family in church about a year ago. She's a beautiful woman. And she should be here sometime today for a visit."

Just as Mr. MacFadden mentioned his intended's name, a servant popped in with Miss Haversham in tow. She had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes and only a mere twenty years old, she was considered a stunning beauty by many.

"Hello Angus," she said as she embraced him and kissed his cheek. "How are you today?"

"I'm quite well, Darling," he replied, his eyes fixated on hers in some sort of lovesick gaze. "Allow me to introduce some new friends. Miss Ruth Haversham, meet Mr. Edward and Mrs. Jane Rochester." He then pointed her in the Rochesters' general direction.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Haversham," said Jane, shaking hands.

"Pleased to meet you as well, Miss Haversham," said Edward, bowing his head.

Miss Haversham giggled. "Your friends are quite friendly," she said with a smile.

"Well, I don't make friends to be mistreated, my dear," Mr. MacFadden said. "They're actually here to do away with that wretched creature in my basement."

"So you're the Creature Killers of Thornfield!" Miss Haversham exclaimed. "I've heard so much about you!"

"It's nice to know that we've gained some notoriety," said Edward with a smile.

* * *

><p>With the formalities out of the way, Mr. MacFadden led Miss Haversham and the Rochesters toward the basement via an entrance near the back. Outside of Mr. MacFadden's glorious estate lay what seemed like acres of gardens, fountains, shaped hedges, and flowers outlining every edge. While Jane was in awe of everything around her, Edward felt slightly envious as his home was only half the size of Mr. MacFadden's. Once into the basement, Mr. MacFadden gave everyone a lantern and described the creature in detail.<p>

"This thing looks like a young woman of sorts," he said. "But with white hair, white skin, and her clothes look somewhat torn."

What Mr. MacFadden had described fit the creature haunting Jane's dreams. She continued to flip through her _Nasty Creatures_ book until she remembered what Edward said earlier about being several types of vampires. She continued to flip through until she found what she was looking for.

"I believe I found the type of creature that has been haunting your basement," said Jane.

"Really? That's wonderful," said Mr. MacFadden.

"How do you know, Jane, when you haven't even seen it before?" asked Edward.

Jane gulped. "Well, I have seen it before, in my dreams."

"In your dreams?" asked a very puzzled Edward, his eyebrows lowered in confusion.

"Yes. Yesterday, when I stayed home from our usual rounds, I had a nightmare about that same creature. And when we went to bed last night, I had the exact same dream."

"And you never told me?" said Edward.

"I thought you'd brush it off as some silly nonsense."

"It's not silly and it's not nonsense, Jane. It's important."

"But what is it, exactly?" asked Miss Haversham.

"From my book _Nasty Creatures and their Habits_," said Jane, holding up the book. "The creature is a zombie-vampire hybrid. Apparently, this young woman was a vampire that was bitten by a zombie and thus, wanders about mindlessly but still has some brain activity and the ability to bite people, thus making more zombie-vampire hybrids."

"Good work Jane, now we need to find this thing," said Edward. "I think it will be much safer if you two went back inside," he said, pointing to Mr. MacFadden and his fiancee. Both complied and exited the basement, with Mr. MacFadden leaving the gate to the basement open as an escape route. With torches in hand, both Jane and Edward traversed the basement. While not too long or too big as depicted in Jane's dreams, it was full to the brim with wine casks, trunks, armor, mounted rifles, old furniture, and even wild game that had been stuffed and preserved.

"This man seems to have everything under the damned sun!" muttered Edward. "Look at these things! Elephant tusks, vases, rugs! This is obscene! And that man is a good ten years younger than me."

"Jealous, Edward?" asked Jane with a smile.

"Jealous? Me? Oh no," Edward lied. "I'm just, well, in awe of this man's many earthly possessions."

The creature killers didn't have to go far when they saw a white, frail young woman thrashing about in what seemed to be a closet of some sort. Looking through a hole in the closet, Jane perfectly identified the creature. She wore a ragged, dirty frock dress. Her hair was white as snow, her skin was nearly the same color.

"What are you doing here!" hissed the creature.

"We've come to, um, help," replied Edward.

"I don't need your help!" the creature hissed in reply. She started running into the door of the closet as if to break the door down itself.

"Jane, I'm going to pick the lock of this door," instructed Edward, carrying a set of instruments he used for situations like these. "Once I open this door, aim your pistol straight for either the heart or the brain."

"Yes Edward." She pulled out her trusty pistol and loaded it. She then took several steps back and faced the door should the woman come straight toward her, her gun pointed directly at the closet.

Edward managed to successfully pick the lock and need only to get out of the way before the creature burst out, running toward Jane, screaming loudly. Jane had only enough time to fire one bullet or otherwise she would be doomed to share the same fate as the young woman. She leveled her pistol and fired one shot. It pierced the creature's heart and stopped her cold in her tracks. For good measure, Jane fired another shot into the creature's head. The zombie-vampire hybrid stumbled a bit and then fell backward, cold and dead.

"Good work Jane," said Edward. "Now let's get Mr. MacFadden in here so he can..."

"I'm right here, Mr. Rochester," Mr. MacFadden said, standing behind Jane and holding his own pistol. "I was the one who shot her in the head."

"I thought I told you to go inside so you wouldn't get yourself killed!" cried Edward.

"Miss Haversham went inside, but I had to come back here. I had to make sure she didn't find out who this person really was."

"What do you mean?" asked Edward.

"That woman," he said, pointing to the dead zombie-vampire woman. "Was my wife."

"Deja vu all over again," mumbled Edward to himself, putting his hand to his face.

"You see, we were only married a year," said Mr. MacFadden. "I thought Eloise MacFadden died after she was bitten by a vampire so we put her in our family mausoleum. Little did we know that she emerged from the mausoleum and was promptly bitten by a wayward zombie. Two years had passed since I saw her until I found that she was trying to get back inside our home through the basement and that is when I sent for you."

"Jane, you drive the stake in her heart," said Edward, taking in all of Mr. MacFadden's story. "This is far too familiar to me." He took out a wooden stake from his frock coat and handed it to Jane who, in turn, drove the thing straight into the creature's heart, turning it into a skeleton with a dirty frock dress.

"Please don't tell Miss Haversham about this," Mr. MacFadden said. "All she knows is that it's just some random creature that wandered into my basement."

"Then let's leave it at that," Edward said. "We won't tell her and she doesn't need to know."

"We promise," said Jane. "Though I would highly suggest that you be a little more honest in your upcoming marriage."

"Oh I will, trust me."

* * *

><p>Weeks later, both Jane and Edward were invited to attend the wedding of Mr. Angus MacFadden and Miss Ruth Haversham. Unlike Thorvald and Ragnhilde's wedding several months earlier, this ceremony of holy matrimony was so lavish that one might think it was a wedding between royals. While sitting inside the massive church, Jane and Edward could still spot the former Blanche Ingram, now Mrs. Hamish MacLellan. She sat next to her husband covered in jewelry with a small baby bump hidden underneath her dress. Mr. MacFadden was right, Jane thought, she was expecting. During the reception, the Rochesters and Blanche made eye contact but then saw that she turned her attention elsewhere to another couple who were congratulating her on the newest member of the MacLellan family. In fact, there were so many people in attendance that Jane and Edward were surprised to see her. After the reception winded down, the two of them decided to take their leave until someone spotted them walking toward the door.<p>

"Mr. and Mrs. Rochester," Mr. MacFadden called out, following them along with his new bride.

"Well, congratulations," said Edward shaking the young man's hand. "I'm sure Mrs. Ruth MacFadden will turn out to be a wonderful wife."

"Thank you kind sir," said Mrs. MacFadden, dropping a curtsey.

"I wish you and your wife the best of luck and God be with you," said Jane with a smile.

"No, thank you," said Mr. MacFadden. "You have done a great service for me. In fact, I shall recommend you to all my friends and associates who are in dire need of your services."

"Thank you very much, Mr. MacFadden," said Jane. "We feel quite honored."

The two creature killers then left the party and headed home in their carriage. They were exhausted, especially for Jane in her expectant condition. Jane leaned her head against Edward's shoulder as he draped his arm around his wife.

"I'm incredibly exhausted," said Jane. "All I want to do is go home and sleep. I'm too tired to eat dinner."

"Are you sure you want to skip your meal? I really think you should have something in your stomach before you go to sleep, my dear."

"Well, perhaps I shall eat something. But I will go straight to bed afterward. I've never been to a wedding so big. So much food, dancing, music, and talking to people we don't know. I'm glad we had our wedding done and over with. It was so nice and simple and there weren't a great deal of people there."

"And we didn't even have a reception," added Edward. "We just took the carriage straight from the church back to Ferndean and packed our belongings to go to Paris and Rome."

"You know what Edward?"

"Yes my little elf?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jane." The two of them shared a kiss.

"I'm so glad to be headed home," Jane said as she placed her head back on Edward's shoulders.

THE END


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

The Wawel Hill Dragon

NOTE: I don't own the rights to _Jane Eyre_. This is out of love for the novel. Based on the Polish legend of the Wawel Hill dragon.

He laid inside his cave, his yellow eyes peered down at the small village nearby. He then raised his head, shook it from side to side, and took flight. His flight did not go unnoticed as the townspeople spotted him in the sky and an alarm was sounded. The townsfolk then took to the safety of their cellars and basements as a winged creature flew over their village and sprayed it with his fire-laden breath. Unfortunately, for the inhabitants of Wawel Hill in Krakow, Poland, this was a common occurrence. Thankfully, their houses were made of stone; unfortunately, their crops and the local flora and fauna weren't and were often burned down by a flying fire-breathing dragon who lived in a cave near town. Many brave men have tried to kill the dragon only to find themselves burned and eaten by said creature and now the inhabitants of Wawel Hill are in desperate need of help to rid themselves of the dragon once and for all.

* * *

><p>It had been four months since the newest Rochester came into the world. Little Helen Jane Rochester was the light of her parents' eye as well as her four-year-old brother Henry, who was now allowed to hold his infant sibling, albeit under the guidance of an adult. The proud parents, Jane and Edward Rochester, couldn't be happier.<p>

"She's constantly getting big," mused Jane one morning, holding her daughter. "Pretty soon, she'll be walking." Jane sat in the drawing room with her husband and son after they had breakfasted.

"When will that be, Mama?" asked Henry.

"Not for another several months, Dear," Jane replied. "It will take some time."

"I remember when you were starting to walk," said Edward. "You had wandered into the privy. Thank goodness no one was in there at the time." He smiled and rubbed his son's head.

One of the servants came into the drawing room with a letter for Jane and Edward. Edward took the letter, opened it, and quickly read its contents to himself and then gave it to his wife to read, who in turn, handed off little Helen to her father and read the letter herself.

"What does it say Mama?" asked Henry.

"Well, it's from a gentleman in Poland. He has written to us requesting our services."

"Now that's one country I haven't been to, I think," said Edward. "I don't know a single soul there."

"It's written from someone named Dr. Leon Stanislaw."

"The name does not sound familiar to me, dear."

"Me neither. However, he does write to say that a certain gentleman by the name of Angus MacFadden had recommended us to him; apparently, the two of them had attended Oxford together."

"Now that makes sense," said Edward.

"Mama, what does he want you to do?" asked Henry.

"He wants us to get rid of a monster for the village he lives in," replied Jane.

"Another zombie?"

"No, not quite," said Jane with apprehension in her voice. "Something quite larger."

"An elephant?"

"No son," said Edward with a smile. "There are no elephants in Poland, I'm afraid."

"It's larger an an elephant, Henry. It's a dragon!" cried Jane.

Henry's eyes widened like saucers. The only dragons he had heard about were in the stories that his parents read to him before he went to bed at night; the kinds that threatened kingdoms and were slain by brave knights to win the hands of fair maidens.

"Will you kill him with a sword like in the stories you read me?" Henry asked.

"Well no," said Edward. "It's much more complicated than that. It will take a lot of work to figure out how to bring down this creature."

Henry then left to be with his nanny who promised to take him to play with his friends, twin siblings Martin and Matilda, for the day while Edward handed off Helen to her nanny to be fed and bathed for the day. Meanwhile, the creature killers retreated to Edward's study so that they could talk more of the subject of dragons.

"Jane, my dear," said Edward. "We've never taken on a dragon before."

"Yes I know," said Jane quietly.

"It pains me to say this but I'm afraid we would have to refuse the offer." Edward sighed heavily and put his hand to his face in frustration. "It's too risky and far more dangerous than anything we've faced. I do not want Henry and Helen to spend the rest of their lives without parents."

Jane put her own face in her hand and shook her head. "There's got to be some way."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Edward. "How would our guns kill a flying beast that breathes fire?"

"Like I said, there must be some way, Edward. There must be a way. You can't leave these people to hide in their attics and basements every time this creature tries to burn their village!"

"At the risk of leaving our children to be orphans?"

"Edward, we face death in the face every time we come across the monsters and creatures we kill every day! What makes this one any different? We must trust God to carry us through as we always do." Jane then calmed down a bit and spoke softer. "I believe that there is a way. We've always figured out ways to defeat the evil beings that threaten our lives."

Edward then sat back with his arms folded and smiled. "Now that is more like it, Jane. Normally you would back out of a challenge like this but I decided to be facetious to provoke some sense of urgency in this matter to keep you from backing out."

"Really now! The last time you were being facetious was when you made me jealous of Blanche Ingram!"

"That was trickery, not facetiousness, my dear little elf," Edward said with a smile. "Those are two different things entirely."

"Oh whatever, Edward," Jane sighed. "I suggest we respond to this call immediately."

* * *

><p>Almost immediately, the Creature Killers of Thornfield arrived in Krakow and barely made it to the village of Wawel Hill after a great deal of detours, bad directions, and good directions lost in translation. The carriage they traveled in pulled up to a medium sized home made of stone masonry among all the homes and buildings made of the same material to prevent them from burning down. Jane and Edward made their way to the front door with their bags. A well-dressed black-haired gentleman about thirty years of age answered the door.<p>

"Good day to you," he said in near perfect English. "My name is Dr. Leon Stanislaw. You must be the creature killers."

"Yes we are," said Edward, removing his hat. "I'm Edward Rochester and this is my wife, Jane." They all shook hands and Dr. Stanislaw showed them inside his home while his servants took their belongings to their room. "Thank you for responding to my letter," he said as he showed them into the drawing room. "I've been good friends with Mr. MacFadden since our days at Oxford."

"What did you study at Oxford?" asked Jane.

"Medicine. I'm one of the few physicians here in Wawel Hill."

Suddenly, a young woman no older than twenty appeared in the drawing room. Dr. Stanislaw immediately recognized her and welcomed her in.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rochester," he said. "This is my wife, Elzbieta Stanislaw." Mrs. Stanislaw dropped a curtsey.

"It is a pleasure to have you here," she said in perfect but accented English. "Would you care for some tea?"

"I would love some, thank you," said Jane.

"None for me," said Edward. "But do you have coffee?"

"But of course! I'll send for your libations in a moment." She then left the room. Mr. Stanislaw then continued to speak.

"We are newly married," he said with a smile. "We have been married for about six months. Her father is also a physician here in Wawel Hill but he decided to retire and award me with his practice."

"That's wonderful!" exclaimed Jane.

"It is wonderful. She's a perfect hostess to our guests and despite having a couple of servants, she insists on doing some housekeeping."

"Sounds like my wife," said Edward with a smile. "Sometimes I have to remind her that we have a housekeeper living with us."

Jane said nothing but elbowed her husband in the side.

Dr. Stanislaw chuckled a bit. "Very well," he said. "Do you have any children at all?"

"We do. We have a four-year-old son and a four-month-old daughter," said Jane proudly.

"Well, my wife and I are not at that point yet but we hope to be," said Mr. Stanislaw.

"My advice would be to take your time and enjoy yourselves," said Edward. "When children come into the world, they become your priority."

"Thank you Mr. Rochester," said Dr. Stanislaw who then watched his wife bring libations to his guests.

"Here is your coffee and here is your tea," she said.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Stanislaw," said Jane.

"Well then, let's get down to business," said Edward, taking a sip of his coffee. "Care to tell us about this dragon that's been wrecking all sorts of havoc on your village?"

"Well, we thought it was just some old Medieval legend but it turns out that everyone has seen this creature," said Dr. Stanislaw. "Every once in awhile, he will hunt for food, mainly livestock but he has been known to consume humans. He also breathes fire which accounts for many of the burn victims that I have seen."

"That's awful!" cried Jane.

"Indeed it is. There are watchmen on duty all day and night and when the dragon is sighted, they sound a series of alarms that warn everyone to take refuge in their basements and cellars. In fact, I'll take you to see ours."

The three of them made their way downstairs to the cellar which looked very much like a normal home with all the comforts such as a parlor, a couple of bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a water closet. It was more than a cellar, the Rochesters thought, it was some sort of secondary shelter. It was also well-furnished with what seemed like everything except a fireplace. Dr. Stanislaw even showed them his wine cabinet, stored safely away from anything remotely flammable. Also in his cellar was a small laboratory and pharmacy. After being shown what was underneath Dr. Stanislaw's humble abode, they made their way to the dining room for dinner.

"This is a wonderful meal," said Jane. "The stew is excellent!"

"Did I mention my wife is a wonderful cook?" said Dr. Stanislaw with a grin. "The best _bigos_ I had ever tasted!"

"Certainly more interesting than the dumpling stew that I'm used to eating," said Edward. "But it's wonderful."

"Thank you very much," said Mrs. Stanislaw. "We normally have a cook but there are occasions where I'd like to..." She was interrupted by the sound of loud church bells from an open window.

"That's the alarm!" cried Dr. Stanislaw. "Quick, close the windows and head to the cellar!"

The servants closed the windows and everyone made their way below, with only a small, closed window to see from. Almost instantly, Wawel Hill appeared deserted; the streets were empty and not a soul was in sight Looking up in the night sky from the small window, Jane and Edward, along with their hosts, saw a winged figure flying in a serpentine manner. It flew in close and landed in a nearby field, its giant, scaly body covering said field like a shady tree. It stuck its long nose in the air and sniffed. Unfortunately, there were no livestock of any kind to be seen so the dragon snorted in frustration and flew away.

"Some people actually put out lamb just to feed the dragon since they have figured the dragon can be dealt with," said Dr. Stanislaw. "But they're merely contributing to the problem. Fortunately, there are times like these when the dragon cannot find food so it'll fly out to the nearest forest for deer and wild game."

"Interesting," said Edward.

"I've never seen any creature this big or horrifying," said Jane.

"I've gone on a safari in Africa about five years ago," said Dr. Stanislaw. "This creature is by far the most frightening thing I've seen compared to the lions and elephants."

"Jane my dear," said Edward. "I believe that we have our work cut out for us."

* * *

><p>Jane said nothing but nodded in her husband's direction. This was by far the worst creature they have seen. The more she thought about it the more she doubted their chances of ridding this village of a monster that threatened the very way of life for Wawel Hill. The reality of not making it back to her son and newborn daughter started to well up in her throat. Still she sighed and thought to herself that there must be a way to defeat the deadly beast and save the citizens of Wawel Hill and their animals from certain extinction.<p>

As they were getting ready for bed that night, Jane was pouring over her copy of _Nasty Creatures and their Habits_, desperate to find something related to dragons. Meanwhile, a very tired Edward yawned and stretched his arms and sat on the bed next to his wife.

"Jane," he said. "It's time for bed. We'll worry about the dragon in the morning."

"I can't help it," said Jane. "I'm frightfully worried; worried that we will fail and possibly perish."

"Worrying will not do you a drop of good, my little fairy," he said sitting close to her. "Trust in God in all things." Edward took his hand and stroked Jane's chin with it. Jane looked from her book and smiled a little. "That's better," said Edward. "Now, put away your book and get some sleep. You will feel better in the morning."

The next morning, the creature killers woke up, enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and were given the opportunity to explore Wawel Hill with Mrs. Stanislaw as her husband, being a physician, had calls to make. There was a marketplace, several small shops, some boutiques, and a Catholic church where, according to Mrs. Stanislaw, parishoners go to confession on nearly a daily basis since they never know when or if they will be the victim of the dragon and preferred to leave the Earth with a clean conscience. It was also the church where she and her husband were married and was anxious to show them inside. The church was ornate with stained glass windows and a highly decorated altar but yet simple; the inside was lined with plain wooden pews and the artwork consisted of the 12 stations of the Cross.

"I remember like it was yesterday," said Mrs. Stanislaw. "Father Henryk Bajek married Leon and myself here only six months ago."

Jane and Edward noticed that the church was not empty. Some of the Catholic faithful could be seen kneeling in prayer, probably for the same reason that many of their fellow churchgoers attend confession. After they looked around for a bit, the trio left the church and proceeded to walk around town. After visiting a cafe and several boutiques, Jane, Edward, and Mrs. Stanislaw headed back to the Stanislaw home, with Edward carrying at least three boxes full of clothing.

"Finally, I can stop carrying these damned boxes!" cried Edward as he dropped them on the floor. "My arms are tired. Had I known we would be shopping for clothes, I would've hired a carriage."

Mrs. Stanislaw laughed. "You are quite funny, Mr. Rochester."

"I happen to think so myself," said Jane. "Thank you for showing us around your community."

"You're quite welcome. It is a very pleasant place to live, if the dragon wasn't around."

"That reminds me. Edward, we need to figure out how to rid Wawel Hill of that beast."

"Yes, of course." The two of them were permitted to go into Dr. Stanislaw's library if they needed any reference material. Some of the books were in Polish, others in Russian and in German since Dr. Stanislaw spoke several languages, however, most of them were on the field of medicine. Still, Jane managed to find a book in English that was on the topic of chemistry. While looking through the chemistry book, Edward decided to look through Jane's copy of _Nasty Creatures and their Habits_ and finally found information on dragons.

"Jane," he said. "I think I might have found something."

"What?" she asked. "Tell me."

"Apparently there is a way to defeat dragons and that is to get them to consume toxic chemicals that react with their fire-breath, more specifically, the chemical of sulfur."

"Easier said than done, Edward," said Jane. "We can't just go up to this dragon's cave to bait it with sulfur! We'd have to bait the dragon with deer or lamb or..."

"That's it, Jane!" her husband interrupted. "Remember when Dr. Stanislaw said that the townspeople feed the dragon livestock?"

"Yes?"

"What if we could bait the dragon with fresh lamb stuffed with sulfur?"

"If he ate the the lamb, the sulfur would react with the chemicals producing his firey breath and the combustion would kill him instantly!" exclaimed Jane.

"Exactly!"

"Dr. Stanislaw has a laboratory in his cellar. Surely he has a cache of chemicals there."

"And the butcher is not far from here, Jane. Let's plan this out and tell Mrs. Stanislaw at once!"

* * *

><p>At dinner that evening, Jane and Edward discussed their plans to eliminate the Wawel Hill dragon once and for all. It turns out that Dr. Stanislaw did in fact, have sulfur in his cellar laboratory and was more than happy to part with some if it meant doing away with the frightening beast for good. The plan was to buy some lamb from the butcher, stuff the lamb with the chemicals and wait for the unsuspecting winged reptile to consume the deadly meal. The next morning, Jane and Edward purchased some of the best and finest lamb and took to tainting it with just enough sulfur to kill but still taste and smell like meat.<p>

As they dragged it out the nearby field where the dragon was last seen, Jane and Edward could hear the tolling of the church bells, signifying the dragon's presence.

"Edward, we need to hurry," said Jane, pulling on the hunk of lamb. "If we don't, we'll be part of the dragon's dinner this evening."

Edward looked in the sky but didn't see anything. "I don't see it," he said. "Perhaps it's a false alarm. Dr. Stanislaw told me that this happens from time to time."

"I really hope you're right. Besides, the way to the Stanislaw's cellar can't be too..." Jane was interrupted by a loud grunting and the sound of something large flying in the air. Both Jane and Edward turned around and saw the dragon in all its grotesque glory. Before it had a chance to snort and breathe fire, the creature killers were already on foot, running toward shelter; the open passageway to the cellar. No fewer than ten yards, Jane tripped on a rock and fell, spraining her ankle in the process with the dragon in hot pursuit.

"Jane!" yelled Edward. "Get up!"

"I can't! My, my ankle. It's..."

"GET UP NOW!" Edward grabbed Jane by the arm and yanked her up, putting her arm around his shoulder, practically dragging her into the safety of the shelter and not a second longer as the dragon's flamed breath barely singed the closed door of the cellar.

"My goodness, are you all right?" cried Mrs. Stanislaw.

"I tripped and sprained my ankle," said Jane out of breath and limping.

"Mr. Rochester, take her to the sofa. I'll attend to her while you watch the dragon from the window," said Dr. Stanislaw.

Edward did as he was told and then quickly went to the window and just in time, saw the tdragon feasting on the sulfur-laden lamb. After eating, the creature made its way to the local river to drink, and drink, and drink. "It took the bait and now it's drinking the river dry," said Edward.

"Probably because it was thirsty," said Dr. Stanislaw.

Edward continued to watch the dragon quench its raging thirst; the more water it drank, the bigger its belly became. And then the inevitable happened. An earth-shattering BOOM. The monstrous dragon that haunted Wawel Hill was no more as the water mixed with the chemicals from his body caused him to explode. Unfortunately, the field nearby was covered in bloody dragon flesh but that didn't matter to the citizens of Wawel Hill as they came out in droves and celebrated.

"The dragon, is it dead?" asked Jane.

"Dead like Bertha Mason," replied Edward as he came toward her and put her hand in his. "Jane, I'm sorry for my tone of voice moments ago but I did not want you to become the dragon's meal."

"It is all right," Jane said with a smile. "You saved my life."

"You saved mine when my bedroom was on fire," said Edward with a smile. "The least I can do is repay the favor."

"How did your bedroom catch fire?" asked a very puzzled Mrs. Stanislaw.

"That's a long story," replied Edward.

After the citizens of Wawel Hill found out about the heroic deed of the Creature Killers of Thornfield, they treated their saviors like royalty. The butcher offered his finest cuts of meat and the jeweler offered Jane his most expensive piece of inventory. Jane turned down the jewelry and she and Edward suggested that the meat be given to the poor. What they did accept were rosary beads given to them by the nunnery near the church. Before they left, Jane and Edward thanked the Stanislaws for their hospitality and let them know that they were welcome at Thornfield any time. With Jane's ankle on the mend, the two of them headed back home to England. When their carriage pulled up to the front of Thornfield, they were greeted by their servants, Mrs. Fairfax, and their children and respective nannies.

"How was your trip?" asked Mrs. Fairfax, helping Jane and Edward out of the carriage.

"It was wonderful," said Jane. "It's small but it's such a wonderful place to stay and visit."

"Mama!" cried Henry as he ran full force into his mother's arms. "I missed you very much."

"I missed you too, my darling boy," said Jane, embracing her son.

"Papa, I missed you, too!" Henry then gave his own father a hug.

"So did I son." Edward embraced Henry and kissed his forehead.

One of the servants handed Jane her infant daughter, Helen, who looked back at her mother with glee and giggled as soon as Jane smiled at her.

"Did you miss Mama?" Jane said to Helen, gently bouncing her daughter in her arms. "Here, let's go see Papa." She handed Helen off to Edward who promptly started making funny faces.

"The children were extremely well-behaved," said Mrs. Fairfax as they all walked in the house. "They didn't give the nannies too much trouble."

"That's good to hear," said Jane.

"Mama," said Henry, as he took his mother's hand in his. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course, Henry. What is it?"

"I was scared that you and Papa weren't going to come back home but I prayed to God that you would and you did come back home."

Jane smiled at her son. "That is wonderful, Henry. I'm very glad you did pray." She took her son into her arms and held him. "Papa and I love you very much and God loves you very much." She kissed her son's forehead and took him inside.

* * *

><p>That night, Jane was busy working on crocheting a blanket to send to the Stanislaws while Edward was relaxing in a warm bath nearby. It had been a long way home and both were happy to be back in Thornfield. Edward then slouched in the bath tub, submerging his head in the water and then came back up. He put his hands through his hair, slicking back the excess water and then finally reclining in the tub.<p>

"How is your bath, dear?" asked Jane.

Edward sighed happily. "'Blissful," he said. "I could very well fall asleep right now."

"Let's hope you don't," Jane said with a smile. "I wouldn't want you to drown,"

"It just feels good to be home again. Travel is wonderful but nothing is more wonderful than to sleep in your own bed at night."

"Very true, indeed, Edward. On a somewhat related subject, Henry told me something when we came home today."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me that he was worried that we wouldn't come back home but then he prayed to God for us to come back. It made me think about how close we came to being dragon food."

"But the Good Lord saved us from certain death, did He not?"

"Of course!"

"Then there is nothing to worry about, my little elf. As long as we're called 'creature killers' and not 'dragon slayers.' I think I am ready for bed now." He pulled himself out of the tub as Jane handed him a towel and his bathrobe, the latter in which he quickly slipped into. "Let's go to bed, dear," he said with his arm around Jane. "I'm long overdue for sleeping in my own bed."


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

**The Bat-Wolf**

NOTE: I did not write _Jane Eyre_. This is out of love for the novel.

It was nighttime at Thornfield and much of the household was asleep. Little Henry wrapped himself in bedsheets and blankets, his little thumb tucked away in his mouth. The toys in his bedroom kept a solemn watch over the boy as he slept. In a room close by, baby Helen lay on her back, swaddled in nightclothes and also resting in peaceful slumber while being kept company by a doll placed beside her. Their parents, Jane and Edward Rochester, were also enjoying a peaceful night's sleep. Jane rested her head on Edward's chest while his arm was closely draped around her. Not a sound was made throughout the house, save for maybe Pilot whimpering in his sleep from a bad dream. The quiet was broken by a sound on the roof; first, there was a loud thump and then footsteps. The first to wake was little Helen, who made more noise by crying. Master Henry suddenly awoke to the sound of the footsteps on the roof as well as his sisters' crying so he went to her room in an effort to calm her down. Then, the Rochesters woke up; first Jane, then Edward with the latter wondering what was on the roof that was making such noise, which stopped immediately after they awoke.

"What the devil?" Edward rubbed his sleepy, bloodshot eyes. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, dear," Jane said. "But the noise is gone now."

"Must have been a tree branch or something; it's unusually windy tonight."

"I can hear Helen crying," Jane said. "I'll be right back."

Jane left the bedroom and went into Helen's to find Henry standing near her crib, trying to sing his sister to sleep.

"Mama, I can't sing her to sleep this time," he said. "We both heard noises from up there." He pointed toward the ceiling.

"That's very kind of you, Henry, however, I think you need to go back to bed. I'll see if I can get her to calm down."

Henry obliged and left Helen's room. Jane sat in a nearby rocking chair and cradled her infant daughter while singing lullabies. Soon after, Helen calmed down enough for Jane to kiss her forehead and place her back in her crib. Jane then returned to her own bedroom to find her husband Edward still sitting up in bed with his face in his hands.

"I can't go back to sleep," he muttered. "Still can't figure out what the deuce was on our roof."

"Like you said, it's probably a tree, Edward."

"I'm surprised you got Helen back to sleep so quickly, Jane. Usually loud sounds set her off for quite a while."

"Henry was in there earlier trying to serenade her back to sleep," said Jane with a smile. "He's such a caring older brother."

"I wish mine were just as kind as he was," said Edward. "But since he's dead now, wishing won't do me a bit of good."

"I'm sorry about that, Edward."

"Nothing to be sorry about my little elf." Edward put his arm around Jane. "Some people are like that. Let's try to get some sleep, shall we?"

The moment the two of them settled back down to sleep, Helen awoke once again in a crying fit which pulled the creature killers from slumber. Jane was about to get out of bed but Edward touched her shoulder.

"It's all right Jane," he said with a smile. "I'll handle this."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jane sat at the breakfast table with Henry while Edward was making funny faces at baby Helen, who was lying in her crib nearby.<p>

"Did you keep Papa up all night?" he said in a humorous tone of voice that made his infant daughter laugh. "Last night you were crying and crying and crying and you didn't fall asleep for another two hours." He continued to make funny faces at Helen, much to her amusement.

"Papa, you should've let me sing to her," said Henry with a mouthful of egg. "She likes it when I do that."

"Henry, please don't talk with your mouth full," Jane said. "It's very impolite."

Henry finished chewing his food and swallowed the contents. "Yes Mama."

"Son," Edward said, turning towards Henry. "Sometimes babies don't respond to singing all the time to calm them down."

"Yes Papa. Besides, are you going to sell Mama's art today?"

"Yes we are, son."

"Are we going to be rich from it?"

Jane couldn't help but smile. "No darling, we're giving the money to charity; we have all the money we need for now."

Today was the big day for the Rochesters as they were traveling into town to conduct a charity auction. Jane had offered to auction off some of her drawings and watercolor art for money to donate to the Lowood School as well as a boarding house that helped shelter young brothel workers that wanted to leave their profession and would provide them with schooling and training to work as servants and governesses. Both causes were near and dear to Jane's heart, one being Lowood where she spent half of her childhood and the boarding house providing a way for women to be independent and financially secure in their livelihood and be able to help provide for children if they had any, which was explained in the simplest terms to Henry's four-year-old mind.

"That's a nice thing to do," said Henry. "One time when Papa took me into town, I gave a few coins to a woman who didn't have any money to buy bread and when I gave her the money, she looked really happy."

Jane's face brightened at her son's generosity. "Oh you did? How did it make you feel?"

"It felt good, Mama. It felt good that she was going to have something to eat instead of starve to death." Jane smiled at Henry's way of explaining his actions.

"We saw a poor woman begging on a street corner," Edward said. "She had two children of her own standing with her and Henry wanted to do something so I gave him a little money to give to her. I feel that it's never too early to start teaching our son to be charitable."

"Oh," said Henry. "By the way, did you know what made those noises last night?"

"No but I think it might have been some of the tree branches," said Edward. "It was awfully windy last night."

"It was scary, Papa."

"I can understand that, son. I wouldn't worry about it too much." He patted his son's head and kissed him. "In my opinion, you are a very brave little boy."

The strange noises the previous evening were then brushed off like dust as Jane and Edward gathered their things and headed for the charity auction in town. The moment they arrived, the art gallery was buzzing with people, both admirers and buyers. The auction was titled "Art by Lady Jane Rochester" and featured several themes, including people as well as zombies as the Rochesters were known by the their title of the Creature Killers of Thornfield. Some pieces featured their most memorable cases such as the vampire who transformed into a squirrel and the Wawel Dragon. Jane and Edward then made their way to the auction room, partially hidden from view as they watched several pieces of Jane's work being sold for quite a bit of money, which made her slightly jump for joy and Edward kissing her cheek, saying "You did wonderful, my little elf." Even an ambassador for the Queen herself purchased a painting to be put in the royal art collection, making Jane's heart flutter even more. Some art enthusiasts approached her and complimented her work.

After another watercolor was sold, the noise in the the auction hall was silenced by noise that was coming from the ceiling. A man ran into the auction hall, yelling that there was a strange creature on top of the roof. Making their way through the crowded building, Jane and Edward went outside to look at another crowd of people pointing and staring at what seemed to definitely be a strange creature; a wolf with the body of a human dressed like a gentleman and with wings like a bat. Some women in the crowd screamed, others shouted. The creature stared at the crowd with beady, yellow eyes. He then flashed a toothy grin and flew off into the sky. Edward pulled his pistol from his frock coat and fired a few shots at the strange bat-wolf but missed every time. He cursed under his breath as he put away his pistol. Despite what had happened, the auction continued on until all of Jane's artwork was sold. Lowood School and the shelter for former brothel workers were given a huge sum of money. Jane and Edward graciously thanked everyone for their time and money for two worthy causes in light of a bat-wolf creature flying onto the building, which they promised that they would get to the bottom of for the safety of the public.

* * *

><p>That evening at Thornfield, Jane and Edward had an interesting dinner, explaining to everyone about the strange bat-wolf who somehow "crashed" the charity auction. Mrs. Fairfax had told them that since they left for the auction, she had been receiving letters from individuals who had seen similar creatures perching atop their homes and asked that Jane and Edward look into it. More troubling was a letter from Dr. Sheffield, the scientist who gave Edward a new hand. Apparently, an individual broke into his laboratory and stole an important anti-werewolf potion that he was still working on. Another letter they received was from a former police officer who had tried to apprehend the beast but was promptly bitten and he himself claimed to have turned into a bat-wolf. After they ate, Edward decided that it was best to think it over while relaxing in a warm bath.<p>

Jane sat nearby, knitting while Edward reclined in the tub, lightly splashing water on his shoulder and then splashed more water on his face.

"What do you make of all this, Edward?"

"Well, for once, I don't know if this winged wolf creature is acting alone or if there are several like him. The letters we received indicate that there could be more than one of him." He drummed his fingers on the side of the tub. "Or he could be incredibly mobile, going from rooftop to rooftop."

"Whatever this thing is, he could be dangerous," Jane pointed out.

"Very true, though there aren't any reports of him harming or killing anyone." He sighed.

"Today was stressful, I know," said Jane, putting her knitting things aside and approaching the tub. "We were helping out the less fortunate and then interrupted by a winged wolf beast." She rubbed Edward's tense shoulders.

"No, that was frustrating, Jane. Trying to figure out who or what this thing is is the stressful part."

"And how Dr. Sheffield's case fits in with all of this. Remember, his laboratory was ransacked and an antidote was stolen from it."

"We would have to question him and then question the unfortunate police officer who was made into a strange bat-wolf creature. For now, let's relax for the evening. We'll worry about this tomorrow."

Jane, out of sheer playfulness, decided to walk to the side of the tub and splash a little bit of water in her husband's face.

"What the deuce?"

Jane giggled. "I've always wanted to do that."

Edward grinned. "If I could, I'd pull you into this tub right now, nightgown and all, Jane."

"I'd like to see you try it."

With an even bigger grin, Edward grabbed Jane and playfully tossed her into the bathtub, nightgown and all. With her mouth agape and her nightgown sopping wet, she splashed her husband again, laughing hysterically.

Edward mocked Jane. "I've always wanted to do that."

"I already had my bath prior to dinnertime; never knew I was going to have a second one." Jane continued to laugh and got out of the tub and dried herself off. "I still can't believe you did that!"

Edward still smiled at her, repeating her words in a mocking tone. In return, Jane pinched the side of his face and kissed his cheek. She then helped Edward out of the tub and into his bathrobe. The two then went to their bedroom and each put on a clean and dry pair of nightclothes and settled in for the night.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jane and Edward decided to pay a visit to Dr. Sheffield, the eccentric scientist who had created a new hand for Edward's stump some time ago. The both of them had concluded that the noise on the rooftop that one evening at Thornfield had been the "work" of the mysterious bat-wolf. The two continued to wonder aloud to each other whether or not this creature was one of many or acting alone. The paper had reported sightings of the creature but no deaths or injuries, leading the Creature Killers of Thornfield to think that the individual was a mere prankster and not a murderer but they preferred to err on the side of caution should they come in contact with him. As they chatted, the carriage to Dr. Sheffield's residence came to a halt and the moment Edward raised his fist to knock at the front door, Dr. Sheffield immediately opened it and greeted his guests.<p>

"Good day to you all," Dr. Sheffield said. "Come, follow me into the parlor. Mrs. Sheffield will bring you some tea shortly."

They sat down on a velvet sofa and Mrs. Sheffield, a gray haired woman of five and sixty, came out with a tray of sweet tea, which was graciously accepted by Jane and Edward. Dr. Sheffield sat down on another sofa opposite his guests, took out a pipe, filled it with tobacco, lit it, and gave it a few puffs. "My laboratory was recently burglarized," he said. "Someone stole an anti-werewolf serum and now there is some strange lupine-bat creature roaming about town."

"So we've seen," said Edward. "One landed on our roof and another one landed on the rooftop of a nearby art gallery."

"According to some reports that I have read," said Dr. Sheffield. "The creature also robs banks at gunpoint and flies off with the loot before he can be apprehended. One police officer came very close to doing that and he was promptly bitten and turned into the very creature he sought to arrest." He finished smoking his pipe and placed it on a nearby table. "His name is Abraham Battingly. He can tell you more about this dreadful creature. My guess is that this same individual who bit him probably took the serum from my laboratory. What has also had me concerned is the recent disappearance of my laboratory assistant, Mr. James Carr."

"Tell us about Mr. Carr," said Edward.

"Well, he is a student of medicine at a local university and decided to study my new technology on limb attachment. He seemed quite engrossed in his work so much that he would stay after hours in the laboratory."

"Anything suspicious or out of the ordinary?" asked Jane.

"Other than spending more time at work than one would consider normal, not really, Mrs. Rochester. All I remember is coming home several days ago to find my laboratory ransacked and Mr. Carr's frock coat strewn on the floor. I'm scared to think someone might have taken him along with the serum. Speaking of which, I am currently in the middle of creating another batch so that the poor officer can return to his former self."

"That does sound quite out of the ordinary to me, Dr. Sheffield," said Edward. "My wife and I will see that this conundrum is solved. Hopefully, Mr. Battingly will become normal again."

The creature killers thanked Dr. Sheffield for his time and left his house en route to the home of the police officer, Abraham Battingly. Fortunately, it was a short ride away and the two of them came to a small, modest home. They were greeted by Mrs. Louisa Battingly, the wife of the victim and they were led into the study, which felt larger than the entire house itself as it was lined with shelves of books and a hearth at the very end. In front of the hearth stood a chair with the back faced away from any visitors. Mrs. Battingly called for her husband who was sitting in the chair facing the hearth. He responded to let Jane and Edward in. They approached Mr. Battingly to find that he looked no longer human but had the face of a wolf and bat wings that were tucked behind him, a vast difference from his youthful appearance of a man aged five and thirty. His head was down, out of shame as he could barely look at the two people sitting near him. He finally sighed heavily and looked at his guests.

"I suppose Dr. Sheffield sent you here," he said in a stern voice. "You're the creature killers, are you not?"

"Yes we are," said Jane sympathetically. One look at him told her and Edward everything they needed to know about not only his physical appearance but his emotional state of mind. It was obvious that the police officer had secluded himself in his study ever since he was bitten.

"If it's not too much trouble, Mr. Battingly," Edward said. "Could you tell us your side of the story?"

"Do you want me to tell you about the individual in question or how this beast turned my personal life into a folly?" he asked with a tone of anger in his voice.

"Both," replied Edward.

Mr. Battingly cleared his throat and scratched his ear to rid himself of a flea hiding behind it. "It all started when my fellow officers and I were told of a robbery of a bank next door.," he said in a calmer tone of voice. "We felt that this was quite easy as the bank itself is literally next door to our police station. In fact, we joked about how stupid someone could possibly be to commit a crime right next to the police station. I then foolishly decided to take on this criminal myself so I left my officers and headed for the bank. Upon entering the bank, I found a creature not unlike my current self, dressed well and holding bags of money. I promptly drew my pistol and aimed it at him, telling him to drop the money and come with us. The creature refused and then I repeated myself and he refused again. I fired my pistol at his head but my aim was off and it merely took off the hat he was wearing. My pistol then jammed and the beast ran toward me and threw me to the ground. We wrestled for quite some time as I tried to wrench his pistol from his waistcoat. The moment my hand went for the weapon, he grabbed my wrist and sank his teeth straight into it." Mr. Battingly grabbed his wrist to demonstrate what happened.

"What happened afterward?" asked Jane.

"The bloody beast ran out of the bank and flew off with bags of stolen money," replied Mr. Battingly. When my fellow officers came to my aid, they found me transforming into the very beast that fled the crime scene. Fortunately, I was given medical leave. I wrote to Dr. Sheffield to see if he could help me but he had told me that his antidote had been stolen. My guess it was by the same individual who made me into this hideous beast."

"Do you know if this person acted alone or was he operating with others?" asked Edward.

"When I saw him, he was committing the crime by himself," said Mr. Battingly, stroking the whiskers on his huge snout. "That is to say that I do not know if he has associates acting with him."

"Do you know which direction he went after he bit you?" asked Jane.

"I haven't a clue, my dear. I was in a daze after I was bitten."

"Did he say anything to you?" asked Edward.

"Something to the effect of 'You can't catch me now, Officer.'"

"Dare I ask how your personal life has been affected, Mr. Battingly?" asked Jane.

"I was afraid of that question. Anyway, since I was bitten, reporters have tried in vain to come to my home to write news stories on my beastly appearance. I have since told my wife that they are banned from my home. Our two daughters were teased at school to the point where we have withdrawn them from their education and temporarily hired a governess to teach them. They were incredibly upset at the names their classmates had called them and myself as well."

"Children can be so cruel, Mr. Battingly," said Jane. "I've been on the receiving end of such abuse myself as a child."

"It's horrible, isn't it? Also, we seldom receive visitors as most would much rather comment about my appearance than talk about matters of the day. The marital duties of my wife and I have ceased completely to the point where we now sleep in separate bedrooms. I have almost no social life since the accident." Mr. Battingly sighed as a single tear fell from his eye and ran down his furry cheek. "Not even the local vicar would come to visit, thinking me to be some agent of the devil." He picked up an empty glass sitting next to him on a small table along with a decanter of brandy and slowly poured the liquid into the glass and drank it completely.

"I do have some good news for you, Mr. Battingly," said Edward. "Dr. Sheffield is currently working on another serum to turn you back into your former self again."

Mr. Battingly's yellow wolf eyes suddenly lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. When we last saw him, he told us he was in the middle of creating one for you."

"Then there's hope for me," he said. "I've been praying that God would heal me for the past several days." He cleared his throat again, wiping away another tear. "You two have been very helpful to me. Not once have you poked fun at my condition nor called me some hideous monster. You have not judged me one bit."

"Sometimes people need to talk to someone," said Jane, patting Mr. Battingly's paw.

* * *

><p>Mr. Battingly thanked the creature killers for their time and for treating him like a human being rather than a grotesque creature. He also allowed them to come visit him, a privilege that has been extended to only few few friends and family members. The Rochesters then arrived home to read the paper for any reports or sightings on the bat-wolf. Meanwhile, more letters began to come in mentioning said bat-wolf. Jane and Edward spent most of the night in bed, reading a pile of letters to find out if there were multiple bat-wolves or just one. Each of the letters had dates and times written, indicating the time and place of where the creature was seen, giving Jane and Edward a time frame to find out whether or not the bat-wolf was acting alone. It turns out that none of the times indicated overlapped each other, thus indicating that the creature was indeed acting alone and the only other creature was the police officer, Mr. Battingly. The hardest part, Jane had told Edward, was now to find out where he lived or was hiding out. Drawing from the clues in the letters they had received, Jane and Edward noticed that the creature would disappear into a nearby forest. The reason why no one had gone in to find him was due to personal safety reasons. Jane and Edward had decided to look around the forest first thing in the morning.<p>

The next day, the two visited Dr. Sheffield and Mr. Battingly to tell them that they finally had a lead on the mysterious bat-wolf creature. Dr. Sheffield had told them that he was almost done with the serum and had filed a missing person report on his laboratory assistant, Mr. Carr. Mr. Battingly thanked them for their "fine detective work" and wished them well. Jane and Edward were then on their way, finding a small trail leading into a dense forest that no one hardly ventured into. The two grabbed their rifles and pistols and headed straight into the forest, following the trail, hoping it would lead to a home or a cabin nearby. About a mile into the forest, Jane noticed a cave to the left of the trail and gestured for Edward to follow her into it.

"Be careful where you tread, dear," whispered Edward. "Who knows if someone might have set traps."

Jane nodded in agreement. "I think its best if you lead the way, then."

"Oh all right." Edward lit a candle that he had brought with him and led his wife into the cave.

They didn't have to go far as they found the bat-wolf sleeping soundly on the cave floor covered by a threadbare blanket with his furry head atop a small pillow. He was still clad in his regular clothes along with a few sacks of money stashed away in a corner. His pistol was hidden in a satchel on the floor. Along the cave wall was a small table with glass bottles of various liquids, thus giving credibility to Mr. Battingly's assumption that he was the one who broke into the laboratory. In another corner of the cave was a pile of foodstuffs. Slowly and carefully, Edward removed the pistol from the creature's satchel and placed it on one side in his frock coat while pulling his own pistol out. Jane then pulled _her_ pistol and cocked it, which was enough to awaken the sleeping beast.

"Huh, what's the meaning of this?" he mumbled. "Can't a man-beast get some sleep around here?"

"You are coming with us, sir," said Edward.

The bat-wolf fumbled for his satchel and found that Edward had disarmed him. "Where's my gun?" he cried.

"Here," said Edward, gesturing toward his frock coat.

The bat-wolf wasted no time in lunging for Edward. Fortunately, he was a better shot than Mr. Battingly as he fired a bullet into the beast's leg. The bat-wolf promptly grabbed his injured limb and rolled over in agony. He then felt another pistol aimed at his head by Jane.

"Tell me, sir," she demanded sternly. "Were you the one who stole Dr. Sheffield's serum?"

"Y-yes!" cried the bat-wolf through gritted teeth. "I stole the bloody serum, all right? And don't call me 'sir!' I have a name, you know!"

"Tell us your name!" Jane pressed the point of her pistol so it touched the creature's forehead.

"Mr. Carr. Mr. James Carr! Now go off and arrest me already!"

"I'd be glad to do so, but first we need to administer some medicine," said a familiar voice. Dr. Sheffield had appeared right behind him with a dose of the serum followed by a young man of five and thirty looking man along with a group of police officers.

"That is him," said the man, pointing at the bat-wolf. "He was the one who bit me and turned me into a wretched beast!"

It turned out that Dr. Sheffield had quickly created the serum and administered it to transform Mr. Battingly into his human self and the two of them had followed the path into the forest after noticing Edward's horse and curricle nearby. Dr. Sheffield also administered the serum to his now former laboratory assistant gone rogue, James Carr. After some prompt medical treatment by Dr. Sheffield, Mr. Carr was put in jail, tried and found guilty of his crimes. Apparently, Mr. Carr had decided to live a life of crime by robbing banks and such and stealing Dr. Sheffield's anti-werewolf serum to turn him into a werewolf was the perfect disguise but it was adulterated by Mr. Carr using an anti-bat serum, thus allowing him to fly.

* * *

><p>A month after the trial, the Rochesters were at dinner when they received an unexpected guest. Mrs. Fairfax opened the door to Mr. and Mrs. Battingly. Apparently, they were in the neighborhood visiting some family when they decided to stop by. Normally, Edward was against such "intrusions" but upon seeing his guests, he graciously invited them to dinner, along with his twin daughters, Sadie and Lydia, who were allowed to play with Master Henry Rochester after supping. The Rochesters were happy to see their guests in such wonderful spirits as they told their hosts about how well life has become for them as they had made new friends in the Rochesters as well as others who were sympathetic during Mr. Battingly's "mysterious condition." The Battinglys also severed ties with those who refused to be with them during their time of need, including the vicar who refused to visit them (they have since found another church). Their daughters were now attending a new school and Mrs. Battingly recently found out that she was expecting another child. Mr. Battingly was now back at work as a police officer. Edward then gave a toast to them and their new lease on life.<p>

That night, as Edward was sitting up in bed reading the Bible, Jane came in on her side of the bed, all smiles. Edward looked up from his reading to notice his wife playfully smiling at him and promptly kissing his lips. Edward returned her affections with a wink of his eye.

"What, pray tell, are you up to, my little fairy?" he asked.

Jane giggled. "I have a surprise for you." She moved her hand to her stomach.

Edward's eyes and mouth widened a little. "You're expecting as well? I thought those special pills that Dr. Sheffield prescribed to you were supposed to prevent that sort of thing."

"Oh no, dear Edward," Jane laughed. "It's actually from the local police department." She opened a drawer and pulled out a letter. "Mr. Battingly gave it to me after dinner and I wanted to surprise you this evening." She handed Edward the letter.

"Jane, don't do that to me, I nearly fainted!" Edward took the letter and read it and read it again. A smile came back to him. "Darling, this is wonderful! They deputized us! The police department was so impressed with our "detective work" that they deputized us."

"So apparently, we have the authority to apprehend criminals," Jane said.

"It's a great feeling but I am better off leaving that sort of thing to the police. However, I'm more than happy to act as a 'creature consultant' if need be."

Jane put her head on her husband's shoulder. "And I feel the same way. Let the police do what they do best and let us do what we do best."


End file.
